Multi-level firing engine control

ABSTRACT

In various aspects, internal combustion engines, engine controllers and methods of controlling engines are described. The engine includes a camshaft and a two cylinder sets. Cylinders in the first are deactivatable and cylinders in the second set may be fired at high or low output levels. The air charge for each fired working cycle is set based on whether a high or low torque output is selected. In some implementations, the camshaft is axially shiftable between first and second positions. First cam lobes are configured to cause their associated cylinders to intake a large air charge during intake strokes that occur when the camshaft is in the first position. Second cam lobes for cylinders in the second set cause their associated cylinders to intake a smaller air charge when the camshaft is in the second position. Second cam lobes for cylinders in the first set deactivate their associated cylinders.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/035,614, filed on Jul. 14, 2018 which is a Divisional of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/485,000, filed on Apr. 11, 2017 (now U.S. Pat.No. 10,072,592, issued Sep. 11, 2018), which is a Continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/274,029 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,689,328, issuedJun. 27, 2017) filed Sep. 23, 2016, which is a Divisional of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/180,332 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,476,373, issuedOct. 25, 2016), filed Jun. 13, 2016. U.S. application Ser. No.15/180,332 is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/919,011 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,399,964, issued Jul. 26, 2016), filed Oct. 21, 2015,which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos.62/077,439, filed Nov. 10, 2014; 62/117,426, filed Feb. 17, 2015; and62/121,374, filed Feb. 26, 2015. All of these priority applications areincorporated herein in their entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and systems for operating anengine in a skip fire manner. In various embodiments, skip fire enginecontrol systems are described that can selectively deactivate workingchambers and fire them at multiple different output levels.

BACKGROUND

Most vehicles in operation today (and many other devices) are powered byinternal combustion (IC) engines. Internal combustion engines typicallyhave a plurality of cylinders or other working chambers where combustionoccurs. Under normal driving conditions, the torque generated by aninternal combustion engine needs to vary over a wide range in order tomeet the operational demands of the driver. Over the years, a number ofmethods of controlling internal combustion engine torque have beenproposed and utilized. Some such approaches contemplate varying theeffective displacement of the engine. Engine control approaches thatvary the effective displacement of an engine can be classified into twotypes of control, multiple fixed displacements and skip fire. In fixedmultiple displacement control some fixed set of cylinders is deactivatedunder low load conditions; for example, an 8 cylinder engine that canoperate on the same 4 cylinders under certain conditions. In contrast,skip fire engine control contemplates selectively skipping the firing ofcertain cylinders during selected firing opportunities. Thus, aparticular cylinder may be fired during one engine cycle and then may beskipped during the next engine cycle and then selectively skipped orfired during the next. For example, firing every third cylinder in a 4cylinder engine would provide an effective displacement of ⅓^(rd) of thefull engine displacement, which is a fractional displacement that is notobtainable by simply deactivating a set of cylinders. Similarly, firingevery other cylinder in a 3 cylinder engine would provide an effectivedisplacement of ½, which is a fractional displacement that is notobtainable by simply deactivating a set of cylinders. U.S. Pat. No.8,131,445 (which was filed by the assignee of the present applicationand is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes) teaches a variety of skip fire engine control implementations.In general, skip fire engine control is understood to offer a number ofpotential advantages, including the potential of significantly improvedfuel economy in many applications. Although the concept of skip fireengine control has been around for many years, and its benefits areunderstood, skip fire engine control has not yet achieved significantcommercial success.

It is well understood that operating engines tend to be the source ofsignificant noise and vibrations, which are often collectively referredto in the field as NVH (noise, vibration and harshness). In general, astereotype associated with skip fire engine control is that skip fireoperation of an engine will make the engine run significantly rougher,that is with increased NVH, relative to a conventionally operatedengine. In many applications such as automotive applications, one of themost significant challenges presented by skip fire engine control isvibration control. Indeed, the inability to satisfactorily address NVHconcerns is believed to be one of the primary obstacles that hasprevented widespread adoption of skip fire types of engine control.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,954,474; 7,886,715; 7,849,835; 7,577,511; 8,099,224;8,131,445 and 8,131,447 and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.13/004,839; 13/004,844; and others, describe a variety of enginecontrollers that make it practical to operate a wide variety of internalcombustion engines in a skip fire operational mode. Each of thesepatents and patent applications is incorporated herein by reference.Although the described controllers work well, there are continuingefforts to further improve the performance of these and other skip fireengine controllers to further mitigate NVH issues in engines operatingunder skip fire control. The present application describes additionalskip fire control features and enhancements that can improve engineperformance in a variety of applications.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates generally to engine control. In oneaspect, an internal combustion engine is described. The engine includesa plurality of working chambers (e.g. cylinders) and a camshaft. Theworking chambers are arranged in first and second sets. Each workingchamber has at least one associated intake valve and at least oneassociated exhaust valve. The camshaft has a multiplicity of cam lobes.Each of the cam lobes is associated with an associated working chamberand an associated intake valve. Each working chamber has first andsecond associated cam lobes of the multiplicity of cam lobes. Thecamshaft is axially shiftable between a first axial position in whichthe first cam lobes engage their associated intake valves and a secondaxial position in which the second cam lobes engage their associatedintake valves. The first cam lobes are configured to cause all of theworking chambers to intake a large air charge during intake strokes thatoccur when the camshaft is in the first axial position. The second camlobes associated with working chambers in the second working chamber setcause the associated working chambers to intake a second air charge thatis smaller than the first air charge during intake strokes that occurwhen the camshaft is in the second axial position. The second cam lobesassociated with working chambers in the first working chamber set causethe associated working chambers to not intake an air charge duringintake strokes that occur when the camshaft is in the second axialposition to thereby deactivate the associated working chambers.

In some embodiments, the camshaft is additionally axially shiftable to athird axial position in which third cam lobes associated with workingchambers in the first working chamber set cause the associated workingchambers to intake the second air charge and wherein the workingchambers in the second working chamber set also intake the second aircharge when the camshaft is in the third axial position.

In some embodiments, there are a total of four working chambers arrangedin a single bank. In some such embodiments, and working chambers in thefirst set are located at opposing ends of the bank.

In some embodiments, the first cam lobes have a first lift profile, thesecond cam lobes associated with the working chambers in the second sethave a second lift profile, and the second cam lobes associated withworking chambers in the first set have a third lift profile, the first,second and third lift profiles being different.

In some embodiments, the first cam lobes have a first lift profile, thesecond cam lobes associated with the working chambers in the second setof working chambers have a second lift profile, the third cam lobesassociated with the working chambers in the first set of workingchambers have the second lift profile, and the second cam lobesassociated with working chambers in the first set of working chambershave a third lift profile, the first, second and third lift profilesbeing different.

In another aspect, a method of controlling operation of an internalcombustion engine is described. The engine has plurality of workingchambers, with each working chamber having at least one cam-actuatedintake valve and at least one exhaust valve. The working chambers arearranged in first and second working chamber sets each including atleast one working chamber. Working chambers in the first set aredeactivatable and working chambers in the second set are not capable ofbeing deactivated during operation of the engine. The engine is operatedto deliver a desired engine output by causing each of the workingchambers in the second set to be fired during every engine cycle andcausing the working chambers in the first set to sometimes be fired andsometimes be skipped. The air charge for each fired working cycle is setbased on whether a high or low torque output was selected for the firedworking cycle.

In another method aspect, the engine is operated in a skip fire mannerthat skips selected skipped working cycles and fires selected workingcycles to deliver a desired engine output. An air charge is adjusted foreach fired working cycle based on whether a high or low torque outputwas selected for the fired working cycle.

In some embodiments, the internal combustion engine includes a camshaftthat carries a multiplicity of cam lobes. The camshaft is axiallyshifted from a first position to a second position to adjust the aircharge for at least a first one of the intake valve. In a first camshaftposition, a first one of the cam lobes engages the first intake valves,and in the second camshaft position, a second one of the cam lobesengages the first intake valve.

In some embodiments, one of the cam lobes associated with each workingchambers in the first set is a zero-lift lobe that effectivelydeactivates its associated working chamber.

Selected engine setting may be adjusted to ensure that the enginedelivers the desired output. In some embodiments, the adjusted enginesetting may include a setting selected from a group consisting of sparktiming, cam timing, exhaust gas recirculation adjustment, and throttleposition.

In some embodiments, all of the working chambers are arranged in asingle bank. In some implementation, the first set of working chambersare the working chambers positioned at opposing ends of the bank.

Various engine controllers capable of implementing the described methodsare also disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention and the advantages thereof, may best be understood byreference to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of a working chamber and anassociated valve control system according to a particular embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 2-7 are diagrams illustrating valve control systems according tovarious embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating valve lift adjustment for a workingchamber according to a particular embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a valve control system according to a particular embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating example intake passages.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating intake passages according to aparticular embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 12A-12F are diagrams illustrating stages in the operation of aworking chamber and intake valves according to various embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 13A-13B are charts illustrating how valves can be operated togenerate different levels of torque output from a working chamber inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 14A-14H are charts illustrating different arrangements andfeatures of working chambers according to various embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a bank of cylinders according to a particularembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an engine controller according to aparticular embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of a method for implementing multi-level skipfire engine control according to a particular embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18 is an example lookup table indicating maximum allowable workingchamber output as a function of engine speed and an effective firingfraction.

FIG. 19 is an example lookup table indicating a firing fraction and alevel fraction as a function of an effective firing fraction.

FIG. 20 is a diagram of an example circuit that generates a multi-levelskip fire firing sequence according to a particular embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram of an example circuit that generates a multi-levelskip fire firing sequence according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 22 is an example lookup table that provides a multi-level skip firefiring sequence as a function of an effective firing fraction.

FIG. 23 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for usingmulti-level skip fire engine control during a transition between firingfractions.

FIG. 24 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for detectingand managing knock in an engine according to a particular embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for usingmulti-level skip fire engine control in response to particular engineoperations.

FIG. 26 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for diagnosingand managing engine problems according to a particular embodiment of thepresent invention.

In the drawings, like reference numerals are sometimes used to designatelike structural elements. It should also be appreciated that thedepictions in the figures are diagrammatic and not to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a system for operating an internalcombustion engine in a skip fire manner. More specifically, variousimplementations of the present invention involve a skip fire enginecontrol system that is capable of selectively firing a working chamberat multiple different torque output levels.

In general, skip fire engine control contemplates selectively skippingthe firing of certain cylinders during selected firing opportunities.Thus, for example, a particular cylinder may be fired during one firingopportunity and then may be skipped during the next firing opportunityand then selectively skipped or fired during the next. This iscontrasted with conventional variable displacement engine operation inwhich a fixed set of the cylinders are deactivated during certainlow-load operating conditions.

One challenge with skip fire engine control is reducing undesirablenoise, vibration and harshness (NVH) to an acceptable level. The noiseand vibration produced by the engine can be transmitted to occupants inthe vehicle cabin through a variety of paths. Some of these paths, forexample the drive train, can modify the amplitude of the variousfrequency components present in the engine noise and vibrationsignature. Specifically, lower transmission gear ratios tend to amplifyvibrations, since the transmission is increasing the torque and thetorque variation at the wheels. The noise and vibration can also excitevarious vehicle resonances, which can then couple into the vehiclecabin.

Some noise and vibration frequencies can be particularly annoying forvehicle occupants. In particular, low frequency, repeating patterns(e.g., frequency components in the range of 0.2 to 8 Hz) tend togenerate undesirable vibrations perceived by vehicle occupants. Thehigher order harmonics of these patterns can cause noise in thepassenger cabin. In particular, a frequency around 40 Hz may resonatewithin the vehicle cabin, the so called “boom” frequency. Commerciallyviable skip fire engine control requires operating at an acceptable NVHlevel while simultaneously delivering the driver desired or requestedengine torque output and achieving significant fuel efficiency gains.

The NVH characteristics vary with the engine speed, firing frequency,and transmission gear. For example, consider an engine controller thatselects a particular firing frequency that indicates a percentage offirings necessary to deliver a desired torque at a particular enginespeed and gear. Based on the firing frequency, the engine controllergenerates a repeating firing pattern to operate the working chambers ofthe engine in a skip fire manner. As is well known by those familiar inthe art, at a given engine speed an engine that runs smoothly with somefiring patterns may generate undesirable acoustic or vibration effectswith other firing patterns. Likewise, a given firing pattern may provideacceptable NVH at one engine speed, but the same pattern may produceunacceptable NVH at other engine speeds. Engine induced noise andvibration is also affected by the cylinder load or working chamberoutput. If less air and fuel is delivered to a cylinder, the firing ofthe cylinder will generate less output, as well as less noise andvibration. As a result, if the cylinder output is reduced, some firingfrequencies and sequences that were unusable due to their poor NVHcharacteristics may then become usable.

As described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/638,908, which isincorporated herein in its entirety for all purposes, it is generallydesirable for a skip fire engine controller design to deliver therequested engine output while minimizing fuel consumption and providingacceptable NVH performance. This is a challenging problem because of thewide range of operating conditions encountered during vehicle operation.A requested engine output may be expressed as a torque request at anengine operating speed. It should be appreciated that the amount ofengine torque delivered can be represented by the product of the firingfrequency and the cylinder load. Thus, if the firing frequency (FF) isincreased, the cylinder torque load (CTF) can be decreased to generatethe same engine torque, and vice versa. In other words,

Engine Torque Fraction (ETF)=CTF*FF  (Eq. 1)

where the ETF is a value that represents normalized net or indicatedengine torque. In this equation all values are dimensionless, whichallows it to be used with all types of engines and in all types ofvehicles. That is, to deliver the same engine torque, a variety ofdifferent firing frequencies and CTF combinations may be used. Equation1 does not include the affects of engine friction. A similar analysiscould be done including friction. In this case the calculated parameterwould be brake torque fraction. Either engine net torque fraction,engine brake torque fraction, engine indicated torque fraction, or somesimilar metric can be used as the basis of a control algorithm. Forclarity the term engine torque fraction can refer to any of thesemeasures of engine output and will be used in the subsequent discussionof engine controllers and engine control methods.

Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a skip fireengine control system that is capable of firing a selected workingchamber at multiple different output levels. This is referred to hereinas multi-level skip fire operation. In some embodiments, multi-levelskip fire operation can be modeled by modifying Eq. 1 above to includethe possibility of multiple firing levels as follows:

Engine Torque Fraction (ETF)=CTF₁*FF₁+CTF₂*FF₂+ . . .+CTF_(n)*FF_(n)  (Eq. 2)

Where CTF₁ is the cylinder torque fraction and FF₁ is the firingfraction at the first level, CTF₂ is the cylinder torque fraction andFF₂ is the firing fraction at the second level, and CTF_(n) is thecylinder torque fraction and FF_(n) is the firing fraction at the n^(th)level. The sum of the various level firing fractions equals the totalfiring fraction, i.e.

FF=FF₁+FF₂+ . . . +FF_(n)  (Eq. 3)

In some embodiments described below, n equals two, although this is nota limitation.

It should be appreciated that there are many equivalent methods ofexpressing the concepts described above. For example, instead ofmodeling based on an engine torque fraction (ETF) the modeling could bebased on the net engine torque (ET), since the quantities are simplyproportional. The cylinder torque fraction (CTF) may be proportional tothe net mean effective pressure (NMEP) and the n^(th) level firingfraction (FF_(n)) may be proportional to the fractional enginedisplacement for cylinders operating at the n^(th) level (FEDn).Equation 2 can thus be equivalently formulated as

ET=+NMEP₂*FED₂+ . . . +NMEPn*FEDn  (Eq. 4)

Equation 4 above is only an exemplary reformation and many equivalentreformations may be devised. They all have in common a quantity relatedto engine output torque expressed as a sum of quantities where eachquantity is related to the output of a cylinder group and there are atleast two cylinder groups having different non-zero outputs.

An example of multi-level skip fire operation may be described asfollows. A working chamber may be deactivated during one selectedworking cycle, fired at a high level of output during the next workingcycle, and then fired at a lower level of output (e.g., 0-80% of thehigh level output) during the next working cycle. In variousimplementations, the low level output may substantially correspond to aworking chamber load that provides optimum fuel efficiency, i.e. thelowest BSFC (brake specific fuel consumption) operating point. As iswell known, the BSFC working chamber load varies as a function of RPM.As such, the ratio between the high and low firing level may vary as afunction of engine RPM and possibly other variables in variousembodiments of the present invention. The firings and deactivations arecoordinated so that a desired engine torque is generated. Theavailability of multi-level skip fire operation allows the enginecontrol system to have more options for finding a balance between engineoutput, fuel efficiency, noise and vibration.

It should be appreciated that any suitable technology may be used toenable multi-level skip fire operation. In some embodiments, forexample, working chamber torque output is controlled using throttlecontrol, spark timing, valve timing, MAP adjustment and/or exhaust gasrecirculation. In this application, a variety of working chamber controlsystems and arrangements are described. Such systems are arranged toenable a working chamber to generate multiple levels of torque output.This application also describes various multi-level skip fire enginecontrol methods (e.g., as described in connection with FIGS. 16-26),which may be implemented using the aforementioned systems. However,these methods are not limited to the systems described herein, and maybe used with any suitable working chamber design, system, or mechanism.

Working Chamber Valve Control System

Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a working chambervalve control system. Referring initially to FIGS. 1A and 1B, twocross-sectional views of an example working chamber valve control system100 will be described. The working chamber valve control system 100includes a working chamber 102 with a piston 104, two intake valves 120a/120 b and two exhaust valves 122 a/122 b. Actuators 116 a/116 bcontrol the opening and closing of the intake valves. Intake passages110 a/110 b couple the intake valves 120 a/120 b, respectively, with anintake manifold (not shown).

When an intake valve is opened, air is delivered from the intakemanifold into the working chamber 102 through the corresponding intakepassage 110 a/110 b. As is well known to persons of ordinary skill inthe art, if the working chamber 102 is to be fired, the air is mixedwith fuel in the working chamber 102 and the fuel-air mixture isignited. The resulting combustion drives the piston 104 to the bottom ofthe working chamber 102. The exhaust valves 122 a/122 b are opened andexhaust gases are pushed out of the working chamber 102 into the exhaustpassages 112 a/112 b as the piston 104 rises.

In many conventional designs, the intake valves 120 a/120 b of theworking chamber 102 are opened and closed at the same time. That is,they are controlled by the same actuator and/or are opened and closed inaccordance with the same lift profile. The timing of the lift profilemay be adjusted using a cam phaser, which shifts the valve opening andclosing times relative to the crankshaft motion. However, in variousconventional designs, cam phaser mechanics generally allow only smallchanges in the valve timing on a cycle to cycle basis and operate allcylinders in a bank in a similar manner. In the illustrated embodiment,however, intake valves 120 a/120 b are actuated and operatedindependently. From one working cycle to the next, the timing of theopening and closing of one intake valve may differ or be the same as theother intake valve. By way of example, during a selected working cycle,the intake valve 120 a may remain deactivated or closed, while theintake valve 120 b is opened to allow air into the working chamber.Alternatively, during a selected working cycle, intake valve 120 a maybe opened and closed based on an Otto cycle, while the other intakevalve 120 b may be opened and closed based on an Atkinson or othercycle. During any selected working cycle, one or both of the intakevalves may be deactivated or closed. In various embodiments, each intakevalve for the working chamber 102 may be independently actuated ordeactivated on a firing opportunity by firing opportunity basis.

The ability to independently control the intake valves of the sameworking chamber offers a variety of advantages. For one, the torqueoutput of the working chamber can be dynamically adjusted. By way ofexample, in various designs, if both intake valves are open during anintake stroke and then closed during the subsequent compression stroke,then deactivating one of the intake valves during a selected workingcycle will result in less air being delivered to the working chamber.This, in turn, will reduce the torque generated by the firing of theworking chamber relative to a situation in which both intake valves wereopened. Likewise closing one or both of the intake valves prior tocompletion of the intake stroke, will result in less air induction andlower working cycle torque output. Similarly leaving one or both of theintake valves open through both the intake stroke and part of thecompression stroke will result in lower working cycle output. In thiscase air inducted into the cylinder is expelled from the cylinder priorto initiation of the power stroke. Through the use of independentcontrol of each intake valve and the use of different types ofopening/closing timing for each intake valve two, three or more levelsof working chamber output are possible, as will be discussed later inthe application. As previously discussed, the ability to modulateworking chamber torque output quickly, such as on a firing opportunityby firing opportunity basis, can allow for better control overvibration, noise and fuel consumption.

The actuators 116 a/116 b may use a wide variety of mechanisms tocontrol the opening and closing of the intake valves 120 a/120 b for theworking chamber 102. In various embodiments, for example, each intakevalve is cam-actuated and/or mechanically controlled. In the illustratedembodiment, for example, the actuator 116 a and 116 b are separate camsthat independently operate the intake valves 120 a and 120 b,respectively. In some designs, a lost-motion, collapsible valve lifter,collapsible lash adjuster, collapsible roller finger follower, orcollapsible concentric bucket may be situated in the valve train toallow for deactivation of the valve. These devices may allow an intakevalve to be activated or deactivated on any given working cycle. In someimplementations, camshafts that move axially, where different cam lobesmay be shifted to engage an intake valve stem may also be used tocontrol valve motion. In this case one of the cam lobes may be azero-lift lobe, effectively deactivating the cylinder. In someembodiments, only a single intake valve may be used and the valveopening may track and be operated based on two or more different liftprofiles. The different profiles may be generated using different camsor through use of more complex valve trains. However, it should beappreciated that a variety of other designs are also possible, as willbe discussed later in this application. The actuation of the intakevalves may be performed mechanically, electromechanically,electrohydraulically or using any other suitable mechanism.

A wide variety of systems may be use to actuate and control the intakeand exhaust valves of the working chamber 102. Some example designs areillustrated in FIGS. 2-7. FIGS. 2-7 are diagrammatic top views of anexample working chamber valve control system (e.g., the working chambercontrol system 100 illustrated FIGS. 1A and 1B.) Each of FIGS. 2-7illustrates a working chamber 102, actuators 116 a/116 b, intake valves120 a/120 b, an exhaust valve 122 a and possibly an additional exhaustvalve 122 b. A line drawn between an actuator and a particular valveindicates that the actuator controls the opening and closing of thevalve. Generally, when a line is drawn between an actuator and two ormore valves, this means that when the actuator is activated, all of thevalves must be actuated during a selected working cycle; alternatively,if the actuator is not activated during a working cycle, all of thevalves must be deactivated during the working cycle. If a line is notdrawn between an actuator and a particular valve, this means that theactuator does not control that particular valve. The aforementionedactuation may be performed using any suitable technology or mechanism,such as through the use of a camshaft assembly including one or morecams and/or camshafts.

There may be a variety of different valve control arrangements. In FIG.2, for example, intake valve 120 a and exhaust valve 122 a are on oneside of the working chamber 102 (i.e. on one side of the line ofsymmetry 105). Intake valve 120 b and exhaust valve 122 b are on theother side of the working chamber 102 (i.e., on the other side of line105). Actuator 116 a controls the valves on one side of the workingchamber 102 (i.e., intake valve 120 a and exhaust valve 122 a) andanother actuator (actuator 116 b) controls the valves on the other sideof the working chamber (i.e., intake valve 120 b and exhaust valve 122b).

FIG. 3 illustrates a somewhat different arrangement. In this example,each actuator 116 a/116 b controls an intake valve on one side of theworking chamber and the exhaust valve on the other side of the workingchamber. That is, actuator 116 a controls intake valve 120 a and exhaustvalve 122 b, while actuator 116 b controls intake valve 120 b andexhaust valve 122 a.

The above arrangements can result in different flows in the interior ofthe working chamber 102. For example, if an actuator controls an intakevalve and exhaust valve on the same side of the working chamber (e.g.,as in FIG. 2), air that flows from the intake valve to the exhaust valvetends not to flow through the middle or a central axis 106 of theworking chamber. If the actuator controls an intake valve and an exhauston valve on different sides of the working chamber (e.g., as with FIG.3), air that flows between the intake and exhaust valves tends to passthrough the middle or central axis of the working chamber. This can havedifferent effects on the swirl or tumble of air and gases in thechamber. Different control schemes and arrangements for actuators andvalves can help achieve a desired amount of swirl in the chamber.Generally, a moderate amount of swirl is desired. If there is too muchswirl, there may be too much convection of heat to the walls of theworking chamber. If there is too little swirl, the burn rate in theworking chamber may be too low.

Other valve control arrangements are also possible. In FIG. 4, forexample, the actuator 116 a controls an intake valve 120 a on one sideof the working chamber 102 and both exhaust valves 122 a/122 b on theother side of the working chamber. The other actuator 116 b controls theremaining intake valve (intake valve 120 b). Thus, whenever actuator 116b is activated to open intake valve 120 b during a selected workingcycle and an exhaust event is desired, actuator 116 a must also beactivated. Put another way, whenever an exhaust event is desired for aselected working cycle, actuator 116 a must be activated and intakevalve 120 a and both exhaust valves 122 a and 122 b will be openedduring the working cycle. Opening both exhaust valves can help improveblowdown i.e., the venting of exhaust gases from the working chamberjust before piston reaches top dead center (i.e., before the beginningof the intake stroke).

FIG. 5 illustrates another valve control system. In this example, anactuator 116 a controls an intake valve 120 a on one side of the workingchamber 102 and both exhaust valves 122 a and 122 b. The other actuator116 b has a similar functionality i.e., it controls the intake valve 120b on the other side of the working chamber and both exhaust valves 122 aand 122 b as well. This arrangement also causes both exhaust valves 122a/122 b to be actuated during a selected working cycle in which anexhaust event is desired and/or whenever one of the intake valves 120a/120 b is actuated during a selected working cycle. The exhaust valves122 a and 122 b will be activated if either actuator 116 a or 116 b isactivated. In contrast to FIG. 4, however, when a combustion event isdesired, intake valve 120 b can be opened during a selected workingcycle without requiring the opening of intake valve 120 a.

Although the above examples involve a working chamber with two intakevalves and two exhaust valves, this is not a requirement and the workingchamber may include any suitable number of intake or exhaust valves. Byway of example, FIG. 6 illustrates a working chamber 102 with two intakevalves 120 a/120 b and a single exhaust valve 122 a. Actuator 116 acontrols intake valve 120 a on one side of the working chamber and theexhaust valve 122 a. Actuator 116 b controls the intake valve 120 b onthe other side of the working chamber 102 and the exhaust valve 116 b.Thus, during a selected working cycle, irrespective of which intakevalve is opened, the exhaust valve 122 a is opened if an exhaust eventis desired.

FIG. 7 describes a different control scheme that also involves a workingchamber 102 with two intake valves 120 a/120 b and a single exhaustvalve 122 a. In this example scheme, actuator 116 a controls the intakevalve 120 a on one side of the working chamber 102 and the exhaust valve122 a. The actuator 116 b controls only the intake valve 120 b on theother side of the working chamber. In contrast to the control systemillustrated in FIG. 6, the actuator 116 b does not control the exhaustvalve 122 a as well. Thus, if an exhaust event is desired during aselected working cycle, actuator 116 a must be activated and intakevalve 120 a must be opened. That is, during a selected working cycle inwhich combustion and exhaust events will take place in the workingchamber 102, intake valve 120 b will not be the only intake valve thatis actuated, but rather is always actuated together with intake valve120 a. However, intake valve 120 a and exhaust valve 122 a can be openedduring a selected working cycle while intake valve 120 b remainsdeactivated.

FIGS. 8 and 9 describe another type of control scheme involving anactuator that can vary the duration and timing of the opening of anintake valve. Put another way, in some of the above examples, anactuator is capable of only two states—deactivating a correspondingintake valve, or activating a corresponding intake valve. If the intakevalve is actuated, then the timing and duration of the opening of theintake valve is fixed for a selected working cycle. However, in otherembodiments, the actuator is capable of additional functionality. Thatis, the actuator is capable of following multiple cam profiles or valvelift settings, each of which have different valve timingcharacteristics.

An example of this approach is shown FIGS. 8 and 9. FIGS. 8 and 9pertain to a working chamber 102 with a single intake valve 120 a,exhaust valve 122 a and actuator 116 a (FIG. 9). As seen in FIG. 9, theactuator 116 a controls all of the valves in the working chamber 102. Tovary the output of the working chamber, the actuator 116 a is arrangedto selectively adjust the valve lift of the intake valve 120 a based ona valve lift adjustment setting or cam profile.

FIG. 8 is a graph 800 that indicates valve lift as a function of time.Two valve lift adjustment settings are represented by curves 802 and804. The actuator 116 a is arranged to operate the intake valve 120 abased on either of the valve lift adjustment settings. In variousembodiments, the actuator 116 a can shift between settings on a workingcycle by working cycle basis. The graph 800 indicates how the durationand extent of the opening of the intake valve 120 a varies from onesetting to the next. That is, for the setting represented by curve 804,the maximum amount of valve lift and the amount of time that the intakevalve 120 a is open during a selected working cycle is greater than withthe setting represented by graph 802. Thus, different settings causedifferent amounts of air to be delivered to the working chamber 102,which results in different levels of torque output from the workingchamber 102. The implementation of different valve lift adjustmentsettings may be performed using any suitable technology or valveadjustment mechanism.

As noted above, some of the above valve control systems may be used tohelp control the tumble and/or swirl of gases within the workingchamber. Control of gas flow within the working chamber may be furtherimproved with particular intake passage designs. Various examples ofsuch designs are illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11.

For the purpose of comparison, FIG. 10 is a top view of a workingchamber 1002 and associated intake passages 1006 a/1006 b with aconventional design. The two intake passages 1006 a/1006 b connect,respectively, the two intake valves of the working chamber 102 with anintake manifold 1014. In this example, the separate intake passages 1006a/1006 b are formed by the dividing of a single intake passage 1004 by ashared passage wall 1112. It should be noted that the central axis ofeach intake passage (axes 1008 a and 1008 b) does not intersect with acentral axis 1010 of the working chamber. (The central axis 1010 may beunderstood as a line that rises out of the page.)

FIG. 11 illustrates another intake passage design according to aparticular embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, two intakepassages 1106 a/1106 b couple the intake manifold 1114 with the workingchamber 1102 and are each coupled with a separate intake valve on theworking chamber 1102. The intake passages 1106 a/1106 b are splayedi.e., they do not extend parallel to one another and connect with theworking chamber 1102 at an angle. In the illustrated embodiment, theintake passage 1106 b for one working chamber 1102 shares an air flowpath with an intake passage 1122 for an adjacent working chamber 1120,although in other embodiments, the intake passages for adjacent workingchambers are entirely separate.

The angle at which each intake passage 1106 a/1106 b connects with theworking chamber 1102 causes the central axis 1108 a/1108 b of eachintake passage 1106 a/1106 b to (substantially) intersect with a centralaxis 1110 of the working chamber 1102. Because of this design, air thatis delivered using the intake passages 1106 a/1106 b is delivereddirectly to the center of the working chamber, thereby possibly reducingthe amount of swirl or mixing relative to the arrangement in FIG. 10.Such arrangements, optionally combined with the valve systemsillustrated in FIGS. 1-7, can help improve control of the motion ofgases in the working chamber 1102.

Additional adjustment may be made to the design of the working chamberto further control the delivery of air into the working chamber and/orthe flow of gases in the working chamber. In some embodiments, forexample, the intake valves of a working chamber (e.g., intake valves 120a/120 b of FIGS. 1A and 1B) have different sizes and/or diameters. Thatis, their shape, size or design causes the air flow rate through thevalves to be different. The asymmetric delivery of air into the workingchamber can help induce swirl in the working chamber, which may bedesirable under some circumstances.

When the intake valves of a working chamber are independently controlled(e.g., as described in FIGS. 1-7), they can also follow different valvelift profiles and/or have different open/closing times. These profilesand valve opening/closing times can be mixed and matched as desiredconsistent with the available valve control mechanisms. By way ofexample, one intake valve may be actuated to implement a lift profilehaving the valve open for the entire intake stroke and closing soonafter BDC. This lift profile allows induction of a maximum air chargeand may be referred to as a normal timing and lift profile. The otherintake valve is actuated to implement an early intake valve closing(EIVC) or late intake valve closing (LIVC) profile. Both the EIVC andLIVC profiles and timing result in reduced air induction compared to anormal lift profile. Use of a normal timing and lift profile will resultin an engine operating in an Otto cycle, i.e. where the valve timingresults in a substantially maximum air charge. Use of EIVC or LIVC valvetiming will result in less air charge and thus a lower effectivecompression ratio. This is often denoted as operating an engine using anAtkinson or Miller cycle. The use of different lift profiles and timingcan help provide additional control over working chamber output,vibration, noise and fuel efficiency.

A particular scheme involving using a particular lift profile and/orvalve timing for one or more intake valves to generate a particularlevel of torque is referred to herein as a valve control scheme. Thus,there may be different valve control schemes for generating different(e.g., low, moderate and/or high) levels of torque from a fired workingchamber, respectively. Each valve control scheme involves independentlycontrolling each intake valve in the working chamber such that eachintake valve is operated using a particular lift profile and/or timingcycle (e.g., Otto, Atkinson, etc.) A particular valve control scheme maycause multiple intake valves of a working chamber to be operated usingthe same or different lift profiles and/or timing cycles.

Referring now to FIGS. 12A-12E, some of the differences between suchvalve control systems and conventional valve control systems aredescribed. For purposes of comparison, FIG. 12A illustrates variousstages of operation of a working chamber during the intake andcompression strokes of an example Otto cycle, which is currently used inmany automobile engines. The working chamber includes two intake valves(intake valves 1202 a and 1202 b) that are both operated in the samemanner based on a normal timing and lift profile resulting in the engineoperating on an Otto cycle.

During the intake stroke, both valves 1202 a/1202 b are opened. Thepiston 1206 moves from top dead center (TDC) to bottom dead center(BDC). Approximately 40° before the piston 1206 reaches BDC, the valvelift reaches its maximum point. Once the piston 1206 reaches BDC, thecompression stroke begins. The piston then moves back towards top deadcenter (TDC). Approximately 40° after BDC, the intake valves are shut.

In an Atkinson cycle, the intake valves may be closed earlier or later.The former is referred to as early intake valve closure (EIVC). Anexample of EIVC valve operation is illustrated in FIG. 12B. In FIG. 12B,both intake valves 1202 a/1202 b are operated in accordance with an EIVCAtkinson cycle. The intake valves 1202 a/1202 b are closed by the timethat the piston 1206 reaches BDC at the end of the intake stroke. Thisis much sooner than in the Otto cycle illustrated in FIG. 12A, in whichthe intake valves were closed 40° afterward. Thus, in comparison to anOtto cycle, the intake valves are closed early and kept open for ashorter period of time, resulting in less air in the working chamber andlower torque output.

FIG. 12C illustrates an alternative Atkinson cycle in which both intakevalves are closed late relative to a standard Otto cycle. This approachis referred to as late intake valve closure (LIVC). An example LIVCvalve control system is illustrated in FIG. 12C. As shown in the figure,the intake valves 1202 a/1202 b are closed approximately 90° after BDCat the middle of the compression stroke. By contrast, in the exampleOtto cycle, the intake valves are closed approximately 40° after BDC.This results in a relatively lower amount of air being delivered to theworking chamber, since more of the air delivered to the working chamberduring the intake phase is pushed out of the working chamber during thecompression stroke.

Since air delivery from the intake manifold to the working chamber isreduced in an Atkinson cycle relative to an Otto cycle, the torqueoutput generated by the firing of the working chamber is less. However,the Atkinson cycle is generally more fuel efficient than the Otto cycle,since a larger fraction of the combustion energy can be converted touseful torque. Running a working chamber on the Atkinson cycle mayresult in the working chamber operating at or near its minimum BSFCoperating point.

In the above examples illustrated in FIGS. 12A-12C, both intake valvesare activated at the same times based on the same cycle. FIGS. 12D-12Econtemplate implementations in which independently controlled intakevalves open and close based on different cycles. The intake valvesdescribed in these embodiments may be controlled or actuated using anyof the aforementioned techniques (e.g., those described in connectionwith FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2-11.)

In FIG. 12D, intake valve 1202 b is operated using an EIVC Atkinsoncycle. Intake valve 1202 a is operated using an Otto cycle. Thus, asshown in the figure, the intake valve 1202 a closes approximately 40°after BDC while the piston 1206 is early in a compression stroke. Theintake valve 1202 b, however, closes earlier i.e., around the end of theintake stroke when the piston is at BDC.

FIG. 12E illustrates a system in which intake valve 1202 a is operatedusing an Otto cycle and intake valve 1202 b is operated using an LIVCAtkinson cycle. The intake valve 1202 b thus closes later than thenintake valve 1202 a i.e., approximately 90° after BDC during thecompression stroke, rather than around 40° after BDC.

The operation of intake valves using different cycles offers a varietyof potential advantages. For one, it provides another means to controlflow within the working chamber. By way of example, in FIG. 12D, airenters the working chamber 1206 asymmetrically. That is, more air comesin through one intake valve (intake valve 1202 a) for a longer periodthan the other during the intake phase. This can have desirable affectson gas motion in the working chamber e.g., it may cause increased swirl.In FIG. 12E, during the compression stroke more air is pushed out of oneintake valve (e.g., intake valve 1202 b) for a longer period than theother. This asymmetric air flow may advantageously increase combustioncharge motion i.e. swirl and tumble, improving combustioncharacteristics.

In some approaches, the intake valves are offset i.e., they are phasedrelative to one another. An example of this approach is illustrated inFIG. 12F. Intake valves 1202 a and 1202 b are operated based on the sameOtto cycle, but the opening and closing times are offset. That is,intake valve 1202 a opens earlier and closes earlier than intake valve1202 b. This system functions somewhat similarly to the systemillustrated in FIG. 12E. Air exits the working chamber in anasymmetrical manner, which can affect swirl in the working chamber. Theamount of offset may vary widely, depending on the needs of a particularapplication.

An additional advantage of independently operating intake valves for aworking chamber using different cycles is that it can offer a highdegree of control over the torque output of the working chamber,depending on how the valves are operated. Referring next to FIGS. 13Aand 13B, various example valve control schemes are described. That is,the charts illustrated in FIGS. 13A and 13B indicate how intake valvescan be operated in different ways to generate different levels oftorque. In some embodiments, the valve control schemes illustrated inFIGS. 13A and 13B use the systems illustrated in FIGS. 12D and 12E,respectively.

FIG. 13A describes a working chamber valve control system in which thereare two intake valves that are controlled independently e.g., bydistinct actuators or cams. The valve control system may have anyfeature of the systems described in connection with FIGS. 2-7 and/or12D. During a selected working cycle, intake valve 1202 a is capable ofbeing deactivated or actuated using an Otto cycle (referred tohereinafter as the “Normal Valve.”) During the selected working cycle,intake valve 1202 b is also capable of being deactivated or actuatedusing an Atkinson (EIVC) cycle (referred to hereinafter as the “EIVCvalve.”) Thus, four different valve control schemes are possible for theNormal and EIVC valves, which produce four different results1302/1304/1306/1308, which are shown in the chart 1300 of FIG. 13A.

In results 1302, 1304 and 1306, the working chamber is fired during aselected working cycle and the level of torque output generated by thefire depends on the valve control scheme. The result 1302 in the chartindicates that the highest working chamber torque output can be achievedif both intake valves are actuated. This also causes a moderate amountof swirl. The next highest level of working chamber output can begenerated if the EIVC valve is deactivated and the normal valve isactuated (result 1306). The next highest level of working chamber output(i.e., lower output than with results 1302 and 1306) is generated whenthe EIVC valve is activated and the normal valve is deactivated (result1304). This is because EIVC operation limits the amount of air that isdelivered to the working chamber. In both results 1304 and 1306, ahigher amount of swirl may be generated (i.e., higher than in result1302), because the activation of only one valve promotes the flow andmixing of gases in the working chamber. Additionally, both intake valvescan be deactivated, which means that combustion does not occur during aselected working cycle and no torque output is generated, as indicatedby result 1308 in the chart of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 13B includes a similarly structured chart 1350, although in thisfigure intake valve 1202 b is capable of being deactivated or operatedusing an Atkinson (LIVC) cycle (referred to hereinafter as the LIVCvalve.) Valve 1202 a is capable of being deactivated or operated basedon an Otto cycle (referred to hereinafter as the normal valve.) Thus,four different valve control schemes are again possible for a selectedworking cycle: 1) LIVC valve actuated, normal valve actuated, combustionevent occurs; 2) LIVC valve deactivated, normal valve actuated,combustion event occurs; 3) LIVC valve actuated, normal valvedeactivated, combustion event occurs; 4) LIVC valve deactivated, normalvalve deactivated, combustion event does not occur. The results of eachvalve control scheme are shown in FIG. 13B. The valve control systemused to implement any of the valve control schemes of FIG. 13B may haveany feature of the systems described in connection with FIGS. 2-7 and/or12E.

The results in the illustrated chart 1350 are quite different from thosein the chart 1300 of FIG. 13A. In particular, the highest workingchamber torque output is achieved when the normal valve is actuated andthe LIVC valve is deactivated (result 1356). A lower, moderate level ofworking chamber output is achieved if both valves are actuated (result1352). This is because when both valves are actuated, some of the airdelivered through the two valves is pushed out of the working chamberdue to the late closing of the LIVC valve during a compression stroke. Alow level of working chamber output (i.e., less than in result 1352) isalso achieved if the normal valve is deactivated and the LIVC valve isactivated (result 1354). In result 1358, both intake valves aredeactivated and no torque output is generated.

As previously discussed, results 1354 and 1356 involve higher amounts ofswirl than with result 1352, because of the asymmetric delivery of airto the working chamber. Additionally, both the LIVC valve and the normalvalve can also be deactivated (result 1358) i.e., the working cycle isskipped.

The charts illustrated in FIGS. 13A and 13B indicate that the use ofindependently controlled intake valves and different cycles fordifferent valves allows for increased flexibility in the operation ofthe working chamber. That is, the working chamber is capable ofimplementing three or four different levels of torque output.Additionally, the working chamber is able to selectively use theAtkinson cycle on a single valve to generate lower levels of torqueoutput in a more fuel efficient manner compared to some other techniques(e.g., lowering torque output by adjusting spark timing, throttle, etc.)

It should be appreciated that not all of the working chambers in theengine need to have the same valve control system. Instead, the workingchamber may be divided into two or more different sets, each of whichhas different capabilities. By way of example, one or more workingchambers may be capable only of two modes (i.e., deactivation or firingwhile actuating all intake valves) or only one mode (i.e., firing duringevery engine cycle without being skipped.) Other working chambers,however, may have independently controlled intake valves as describedabove in connection with FIGS. 1-13. Such mixed sets of working chambersstill allows for greater flexibility and control relative to aconventional engine, but also helps reduce hardware costs and complexityrelative to an engine in which every working chamber is capable ofmulti-level torque output.

A variety of different example working chamber arrangements aredescribed in FIGS. 14A-14H. Each of the figures includes a chart withmultiple cells and indices for a power level and a cylinder number. Eachchart indicates the different power levels (i.e., torque output levels)that each cylinder (designated by numbers 1-4) is capable of in anexample four cylinder engine. That is, if a cylinder has a cellassociated with power level 1 filled in, this means that the cylinder iscapable of being fired to generate a high torque output (e.g., CTF=1.0or 100% of a maximum allowable output.) If a cylinder has a cellassociated with power level 2 filled in, this means that the cylinder iscapable of being fired to generate a low or partial torque output.(e.g., CTF=0.7 or 70% of a maximum allowable output.) If a cylinder hasa cell filled in that is associated with power level 3, this means thatthe cylinder is capable of being deactivated (thus generating no torqueoutput for a selected working cycle.)

In the illustrated embodiment, only three power levels are available,however in other embodiments at least some of the cylinders may becapable of generating more than three power levels e.g., as shown inFIGS. 13A-13B. Each chart in FIGS. 14A-14H indicates a differentarrangement and combination of working chambers/valve systems withdifferent capabilities. The cylinders described in the charts arearranged to generate the different power levels using any of the valvecontrol systems, operations and features described in this application(e.g., as discussed in connection with FIGS. 1-13.)

Each chart is also associated with a fuel efficiency value. Each fuelefficiency value is based on simulations performed by the inventors. Thevalue indicates an estimated fuel efficiency gain that the configurationhad relative to a conventional four cylinder engine (e.g., one withoutany capacity to deactivate cylinders.) It should be appreciated that thefuel efficiency values associated with each of the charts in FIGS.14A-14H are preliminary, based on experimental simulations, and may varyfor different engine designs and applications.

For purposes of comparison, FIG. 14A is a chart indicating a cylinderconfiguration in which all of the cylinders are capable of only twopower levels i.e., each cylinder can be skipped or fired to generate asingle level of torque output. Such a configuration may be used in askip fire engine control system. In this design, both intake valves areactuated during any firing. The air charge associated with a firing maybe adjusted by a cam phaser, which controls the valves opening andclosing times, and a throttle, which controls the MAP for all cylinders.Generally, these control systems do not allow large, rapid adjustment inthe output of an isolated working chamber. While a working chamber'soutput may be reduced by retarding the spark timing, it is oftendesirable to avoid this control method since it is fuel inefficient. Thecylinder configuration shown in FIG. 14A is moderately fuel efficient,since firing under such conditions helps to reduce pumping losses in theworking chamber and in some cases cylinders can be fired near optimalfuel efficiency.

FIG. 14B illustrates a configuration for a conventional engine withcylinder deactivation. Two cylinders are fired during every engine cyclei.e., are not capable of being deactivated. During selected workingcycles, two other cylinders can be fired to generate a single level oftorque output or deactivated. Since such an engine is not capable ofskipping every cylinder, its fuel efficiency may be somewhat less thenthat of the configuration illustrated in FIG. 14A. However, lesshardware may be required to support such a system relative to a singlelevel skip fire engine design for all cylinders e.g., as shown in FIG.14A.

FIG. 14C describes a configuration in which every cylinder is capable ofthree output levels: being deactivated (no torque output) and firing atan additional two distinct power levels. Such a configuration may beenabled using any of the valve control system described in thisapplication (e.g., independent control of intake valves for eachcylinder, operating intake valves based on the Otto and Atkinson cycles,etc.) Such an approach may provide substantial gains in fuel efficiency.However, it also may require that each cylinder be outfitted withadditional hardware and valve control-related features.

FIG. 14D represents a simpler approach, in which two cylinders arecapable of the three power levels referenced in FIG. 14C. The remainingtwo cylinders, however, are not deactivatable and are fired during everyengine cycle at a single power level. Thus, cylinders 2 and 3 mayrequire little or no additional hardware relative to a cylinder in aconventional, non-skip fire engine.

In some embodiments, the cylinders 1-4 referenced in FIG. 14D arearranged to make the most efficient use of space in the engine. Anexample of such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a topview of a bank or row of cylinders 1-4 in an engine 1500. Cylinders 1and 4 are positioned at the ends of the bank, and cylinders 2 and 3 arein the middle of the row of cylinders.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example in which cylinders that are capable ofmore output levels/deactivation are positioned at the ends of a bank ofcylinders, and cylinders that are capable of fewer torque output levelsand/or that are not capable of being deactivated are positioned in themiddle. This allows additional hardware to be more easily attached tothe cylinders at the ends of the bank; those with less hardwarerequirements are positioned in the middle of the bank, where there isless space and where each cylinder is bordered on either side by anothercylinder. The illustrated embodiment includes four cylinders, but itshould be appreciated that a similar arrangement can also be used for abanks/row with more or fewer cylinders (e.g., a row with three, five ormore cylinders). Put another way, in various implementations, theoutermost cylinders (e.g., cylinder(s) at or closer to the ends of therow) are capable of more output levels and the inner cylinders (e.g.,cylinder(s) that are closer to the middle of the row and/or aresurrounded on both sides by other cylinders) are capable of fewer outputlevels. In engines with two or more rows/banks of cylinders, eachcylinder bank/row may have the same arrangement as shown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 14E represents a configuration that is a modification of the oneillustrated in FIGS. 14D and/or 15. In FIG. 14E as in FIG. 14D,cylinders 1 and 4 are capable of three levels of output. Cylinders 2 and3, however, are capable of two levels of output (i.e., they can beskipped or fired at a single torque output level.) The configurationillustrated in FIG. 14E can also be arranged as shown in FIG. 15, as theinnermost cylinders (cylinders 2 and 3) may require less hardware andhave fewer associated output levels than the outermost cylinders(cylinder 1 and 4.)

In FIG. 14F, each cylinder is capable of two output levels, but thetypes of output levels that they are capable of differ. In this exampleconfiguration, cylinders 1 and 4 are capable of two output levels—theycan be fired to generate a single torque output level, and also can bedeactivated for a selected working cycle. Cylinders 2 and 3 are notcapable of being deactivated, but can be fired at two different outputlevels. Relative to a configuration in which every cylinder is capableof generating three or more output levels, the configuration illustratedin FIG. 14F may require less hardware. Preliminary testing alsoindicates that such a configuration can be fairly fuel efficient, evenin comparison to a single level skip fire engine system (e.g., asillustrated in FIG. 14A.)

FIG. 14G illustrates a configuration in which two of the cylinders(cylinders 1 and 4) are capable of three levels of output (i.e.,deactivation and firing at two different torque output levels). The twoother cylinders (cylinders 2 and 3) cannot be deactivated but arecapable of being fired to generate two different torque output levels.The configuration described in FIG. 14G may also be arranged as shown inFIG. 15. That is, cylinder 1 and 4, which are capable of more outputlevels, are placed at the ends of the row/bank of cylinders, while thecylinders that are capable of fewer output levels (cylinders 2 and 3)are positioned in the middle or in the inner portion of the row/bank. Aspreviously discussed, in various embodiments cylinders 1 and 4 requiremore hardware to support the additional output levels, and the outerends of the cylinder row/bank provide more space for such hardware to beinstalled.

FIG. 14H represents a variation in which all of the cylinders are notcapable of being deactivated or skipped. Each cylinder, however, iscapable of being fired to generate two different torque output levels.In various implementations, this configuration may have lower NVHrelative to a conventional skip fire engine control system, and mayrequire less hardware relative to a system in which the cylinders arecapable of more output levels.

Any of the valve control systems described in this application may beused to implement the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 14A-14H. That is,various embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 14A-14H involve one or morecylinders that can be deactivated and/or fired to generate multiplelevels of torque output. Such multi-level torque output may be enabledin a wide variety of ways. In some implementations, for example, eachcylinder includes two intake valves, where each intake valve iscontrolled by a different actuator (e.g., as described in FIGS. 2-7.) Togenerate a high torque output, air is passed through both intake valvesduring a selected working cycle. To generate a low torque output, air ispassed through only one intake valve during a selected working cycle orair is pushed out of the cylinder by a LIVC valve. As illustrated inFIGS. 2-7, the control of one or more exhaust valves may be handled byone or more actuators. In some approaches, the cylinder is configured tohave a single intake valve in which the valve lift is adjustable so thatthe cylinder is capable of being fired to generate different torqueoutput levels (e.g., as discussed in connection with FIGS. 8 and 9.) Theconfigurations illustrated in FIGS. 14A-14H may also be used in anengine system with any of the aforementioned valve passage arrangements(e.g., as described in connection with FIGS. 10A, 10B and 11). In somedesigns, each cylinder capable of multi-level torque output operatesdifferent intake valves using different cycles (e.g., as described inconnection with FIGS. 12A-12E and 13A-13B.) That is, the differentlevels of torque output described in the charts of FIGS. 14A-14H may begenerated using the techniques described in the charts of FIGS. 13A and13B (e.g., actuating an EIVC/LIVC valve and a normal valve to generate aparticular torque output, and deactivating one of the valves to generatea different, second torque output, etc.).

Multi-Level Skip Fire Engine Control System

Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a multi-levelskip fire engine control system. One or more working chambers of theengine are capable of being fired to generate at least two distinctlevels of non-zero torque output. The working chamber output torque maybe controlled on a firing opportunity by firing opportunity basis. Theoverall engine torque output can be controlled by firing or skippingcylinders on a firing opportunity by firing opportunity basis. Based ona desired engine torque, the engine control system determines a firingsequence to operate the engine in a skip fire manner. The sequenceindicates a series of skips and fires. For each fire, the sequenceindicates an associated level of torque output. The working chambers ofthe engine are operated based on the firing sequence to deliver thedesired engine torque. Such a skip fire firing sequence is referred toherein as a multi-level skip fire firing sequence.

The described embodiments of a multi-level skip fire engine controlsystem may be used with any of the engine, working chamber, intakepassage and valve control system designs described in this application.In various embodiments, for example, the system generates a firingsequence that involves firings at multiple torque output levels from oneor more working chambers. Each of these working chambers may generatesuch high or low torque output firings by using independently controlledintake valves and/or exhaust valves, by operating intake valves for thesame working chamber in accordance with different cycles (e.g., Otto andAtkinson) and/or any other feature or technique described in connectionwith the figures. It should also be appreciated, however, that thedescribed multi-level skip fire engine control systems are not limitedto such systems and operations, and that they may be applied to anyengine or working chamber design that is capable of generating multiplelevels of working chamber output. It is particularly applicable tocontrol systems that make firing decisions on a firing opportunity byfiring basis, although it is not limited to this type of control system.

Referring next to FIG. 16, a multi-level skip fire engine controller1630 will be described according to a particular embodiment of thepresent invention. The engine controller 1630 includes a firing fractioncalculator 1602, a firing timing determination module 1606, a firingcontrol unit 1610, a power train parameter adjusting module 1608 and anengine diagnostics module 1650. The engine controller 1630 is arrangedto operate the engine in a skip fire manner.

The engine controller 1630 receives an input signal 1614 representativeof the desired engine output and various vehicle operating parameters,such as an engine speed 1632 and transmission gear 1634. The inputsignal 1614 may be treated as a request for a desired engine output ortorque. The signal 1614 may be received or derived from an acceleratorpedal position sensor (APP) or other suitable sources, such as a cruisecontroller, a torque calculator, etc. An optional preprocessor maymodify the accelerator pedal signal prior to delivery to the enginecontroller 1630. However, it should be appreciated that in otherimplementations, the accelerator pedal position sensor may communicatedirectly with the engine controller 1630.

The firing fraction calculator 1602 receives input signal 1614 (and whenpresent other suitable sources) and engine speed 1632 and is arranged todetermine a firing fraction that would be appropriate to deliver thedesired output. In various embodiments, the firing fraction is any datathat indicates or represents a ratio of firings to firing opportunities(i.e., firings plus skips).

In some implementations, the firing fraction calculator 1602 initiallygenerates an effective firing fraction. In various embodiments, aneffective firing fraction (EFF) is the product of the firing fractionand the weighted average normalized reference cylinder charge for firingevents. (Accordingly, in such embodiments, the effective firingfraction, unlike the firing fraction, may not clearly indicate a ratioof firings to firing opportunities.) In various embodiments, thenormalized reference cylinder charge or cylinder torque fraction has atleast two potential distinct non-zero values, each associated with acylinder group. Mathematically the engine torque fraction (ETF) may beexpressed in terms of the effective firing fraction (EFF) as

ETF=EFF*CTF^(act) _(H)  (Eq. 5a)

where CTF^(act) _(H) is the actual charge in the highest charge levelcylinder group. For systems with two charge levels the high level torquecharge may be referred to as a full charge and the low torque levelcharge may be referred to as a partial charge. In the various examplespreviously described in this application, the amount of torque generatedby the firing of a working chamber is characterized by a cylinder torquefraction (CTF), which gives an indication of a working chamber outputrelative to a reference value. For example, the CTF values may berelative to the maximum possible output torque generated by a workingchamber with wide open throttle at a reference ambient pressure andtemperature i.e., 100 kPa and 0 C, and the appropriate valve and sparktiming. Of course, other ranges and reference values may be used. Inthis application, CTF is generally a value between 0 and 1.0, althoughit may be greater than 1.0 in some circumstances, such as low ambienttemperatures and/or operation below sea level or in boosted engines. Forsome of the embodiments described in this application, the full chargeinvolves a reference CTF value of 1.0 and a partial charge involves areference CTF value of 0.7. For clarity these values will be used in thefollowing description of the invention although it should be appreciatedthat these values will vary depending on exact engine design and engineoperating conditions. It should be appreciated that the actual CTFdelivered by a working chamber may be adjusted from these referencesvalues.

In some embodiments, the firing fraction calculator 1602 is arranged todetermine one or more combinations of level firing fractions andcylinder torque levels (e.g., as seen in Eq. 2) that would beappropriate to deliver a desired output. These combinations may also beexpressed as an effective firing fraction (EFF) 1611. In some designs,the engine torque fraction (ETF) may be expressed as the product of theEFF and an adjustment factor α:

ETF=EFF*CTF^(act) _(H)=EFF*CTF^(R) _(H)*  (Eq. 5b)

where CTF^(R) _(H) is the reference cylinder torque fraction associatedwith the cylinder group having the highest cylinder charge. As describedabove CTF^(R) _(H) is assumed to be 1 in the description provided here,but this is not a requirement. The adjustment factor α varies dependingon engine parameter settings such as spark timing and throttle and camphaser position.

The firing fraction calculator 1602 may generate the effective firingfraction in a variety of ways, depending on the needs of a particularapplication. In some implementations, for example, an effective firingfraction is selected from a library of predefined effective firingfractions and/or from a lookup table. Various implementations involveusing a lookup table to determine an effective firing fraction based onone or more engine parameters (e.g., gear, engine speed, etc.), fuelconsumption, a maximum allowable CTF, and/or NVH associated with variouseffective firing fractions. These and other approaches will be describedin greater detail elsewhere.

Once the calculator 1602 determines an effective firing fraction, it ispassed to the firing timing determination module 1606. Based on thereceived effective firing fraction, the firing timing determinationmodule 1606 is arranged to issue a sequence of firing commands thatcause the engine to deliver the percentage of firings and firing outputtorque levels necessary to generate the desired engine output. Thissequence may be generated in variety of ways, such as using asigma-delta converter, or through the use of one or more look up tablesor using a state machine. The sequence of firing commands (sometimesreferred to as a drive pulse signal 1616) outputted by the firing timingdetermining module 1606 are passed to the firing control unit 1610 whichorchestrates the actual firings through firing signals 1619 directed tothe engine working chambers 1612.

The sequence of firing commands issued by the firing timingdetermination module 1606 indicates a combination of skips and fires andthe torque level associated with the fires. In various embodiments, foreach fire, the sequence indicates a particular torque output level,which is selected from two or more possible torque output levels. Thesequence may take any suitable form. In some embodiments, for example,the sequence is made up of values such as 0, 0, 0.7, 1. This exampleindicates that during the next four firing opportunities, associatedworking chambers should be skipped, skipped, fired (at a lower level ofworking chamber output e.g., 70% of the reference cylinder torqueoutput, etc.) and fired (at a high level of working chamber output e.g.,100% of the reference cylinder torque output, etc.) A firing sequencethat indicates skips and fires having multiple levels of working chamberoutput are referred to herein as a multi-level skip fire firingsequence.

The firing timing determination module 1606 may determine the firingdecisions and firing sequence in a variety of ways. In variousimplementations, for example, the firing timing determination module1606 searches one or more lookup tables to determine an appropriatemulti-level firing sequence. The appropriate multi-level firing sequencemay be arranged to maximize fuel economy consistent with achievingacceptable NVH characteristics. Factors which influence NVH can includetransmission gear, engine speed, cylinder charge, and/or other engineparameters. Based on the effective firing fraction, fuel economy, NVHconsiderations and/or one or more of the aforementioned factors, themodule 1606 selects a multi-level firing sequence from multiple firingsequence options. In other implementations, the module 1606 determines asuitable firing sequence using a sigma delta converter or algorithm. Anysuitable algorithm or process may be used to generate a firing sequencethat delivers the desired engine torque. Various techniques fordetermining the firing sequence are described below in connection withFIGS. 17-22.

In the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 16, a power train parameteradjusting module 1608 is provided that cooperates with the firing timingdetermination module 1606. The power train parameter adjusting module1608 directs the engine working chambers 1612 to set selected powertrain parameters appropriately to ensure that the actual engine outputsubstantially equals the requested engine output. For example, undersome conditions, to deliver a desired engine torque, the outputgenerated from each firing of a working chamber must be adjusted. Thepower train parameter adjusting module 1608 is responsible for settingany suitable engine setting (e.g., mass air charge, spark timing, camtiming, valve control, exhaust gas recirculation, throttle, etc.) tohelp ensure that the actual engine output matches the requested engineoutput. The engine output is thus not constrained to operate at onlydiscrete levels, but in various implementations can be adjusted in acontinuous, analog fashion by adjustment of the engine settings.Mathematically, in some approaches this may be expressed by including amultiplicative factor in the output of each cylinder group. Equation 2can thus be modified and combined with Equation 5 such that

ETF=α*CTF^(R) _(H)*EFF=α₁*CTF^(R) ₁*FF₁+α₂*CTF^(R) ₂*FF₂+ . . .+α_(n)*CTF^(R) _(n)*FF_(n)   (Eq. 6)

where α₁, α₂, and α_(n) represent an adjustment factor in the cylinderload associated with each cylinder group and CTF^(R) ₁, CTF^(R) ₂, andCTF^(R) _(n) represent the reference cylinder torque fraction for eachcylinder group. It should be appreciated that some engine settings, suchas the throttle position, impact the adjustment for all cylinder groups,while some settings, such as spark timing and/or injected fuel mass, canbe adjusted in a group by group or even cylinder by cylinder manner. Invarious implementations, each different cylinder group will havedifferent spark timing and injected fuel mass. The spark timing for eachgroup may be adjusted to give optimum fuel efficiency for that group andthe injected fuel mass may be adjusted for a substantiallystoichiometric air/fuel ratio for all groups. In this case the amount ofinjected fuel will be approximately proportional to the generatedcylinder torque.

The engine controller 1630 also includes an engine diagnostics module1650. The engine diagnostics module 1630 is arranged to detect anyengine problems (e.g., knocking, misfire, etc.) in the engine. Any knowntechniques, sensors or detection processes may be used to detect theproblems. In various embodiments, if a problem is detected, the enginediagnostics module 1650 directs the firing control unit 1610 to performoperations to reduce the likelihood of the problem arising in thefuture. In various embodiments, a multi-level skip fire firing sequenceis generated to address the potential problem. Various exampleoperations that may be performed by the engine diagnostics unit 1650 aredescribed later in the application e.g., in connection with FIGS. 24 and26.

It should be appreciated that the engine controller 1630 is not limitedto the specific arrangement shown in FIG. 16. One or more of theillustrated modules may be integrated together. Alternatively, thefeatures of a particular module may instead be distributed amongmultiple modules. One or more features from one module/component may(instead) be performed by another module/component. The enginecontroller may also include additional features, modules or operationsbased on other patent applications, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,954,474;7,886,715; 7,849,835; 7,577,511; 8,099,224; 8,131,445; 8,131,447; and8,616,181; U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/774,134; 13/963,686;13/953,615; 13/953,615; 13/886,107; 13/963,759; 13/963,819; 13/961,701;13/963,744; 13/843,567; 13/794,157; 13/842,234; 13/654,244, 13/654,248;14/638,908; 13/799,389; 14/207,109; and Ser. No. 14/206,918; and U.S.Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/080,192; 61/104,222; and61/640,646, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety for all purposes. Any of the features, modules and operationsdescribed in the above patent documents may be added to the illustratedengine controller 1630. In various alternative implementations, thesefunctional blocks may be accomplished algorithmically using amicroprocessor, ECU or other computation device, using analog or digitalcomponents, using programmable logic, using combinations of theforegoing and/or in any other suitable manner.

Referring next to FIG. 17, a method for determining a multi-level skipfire firing sequence according to a particular embodiment of the presentinvention will be described. The method may be performed by the enginecontroller 1630 illustrated in FIG. 16.

Initially, at step 1705, the engine controller 1630 determines a desiredengine torque based on an input signal 1614 (FIG. 16), the currentengine operating speed, transmission gear and/or other engineparameters. The input signal 1614 is derived from any suitable sensor(s)or operating parameter(s), including, for example, an accelerator pedalposition sensor.

At step 1710, the firing fraction calculator 1602 determines aneffective firing fraction that is suitable for delivering the desiredtorque. In various embodiments, as previously discussed, the effectivefiring fraction includes both the firing fraction for each cylindergroup and the associated torque level of the cylinder group. Thedetermination of the effective firing fraction may based on any suitableengine parameter e.g., gear, engine speed, etc., as well as other enginecharacteristics such as NVH and fuel efficiency. In some embodiments,the effective firing fraction is selected from a set of predeterminedeffective firing fractions that are determined to be fuel efficientand/or have acceptable NVH characteristics given the engine parameters.The effective firing fraction may be generated or selected using anysuitable mechanism e.g., one or more lookup tables as described inconnection with FIG. 18 of this application. One approach fordetermining a suitable effective firing fraction is illustrated in FIG.18. FIG. 18 illustrates an example lookup table 1800 that includesindices for engine speed and an effective firing fraction (EFF). Thistable is associated with a particular gear i.e., there may be othertables for other gears. Alternatively, in another version of theillustrated table, gear is an additional index to the table. For eacheffective firing fraction and engine speed, the table indicates amaximum allowable high level working chamber torque output, which stillprovides acceptable NVH performance. Each effective firing fraction isbased on a combination of the firing fraction associated with eachfiring level and the output at each level. For the case of a multi-levelskip fire engine having two cylinder groups with different torque levelsthe effective firing fraction (EFF) can be expressed as the firingfraction (FF) and the ratio of high level firings to total firingsdenoted as HLF (high.) The FF and HLF values associated with thedifferent effective firing fractions are shown in FIG. 19.

The maximum allowable working chamber output values reflects the factthat NVH generally tends to increase at higher levels of working chamberoutput. Thus, for any given engine speed and effective firing fraction,it is desirable to ensure that the working chamber output does notexceeds a particular level so that NVH is kept to acceptable levels. Invarious embodiments, the firing fraction calculator 1602 searchesthrough the table, finding one or more effective firing fractions thatare suitable for delivering a desired torque and that also meet theworking chamber output requirements in the table.

To help clarify how the table may be used, an example will be described.In this example, the desired engine torque fraction is 0.2 and theengine speed is 1300 RPM. If the reference torque values associated withthe high level firing cylinder group is at the maximum torque value,than the effective firing fraction must equal or exceed the enginetorque fraction in order to generate the desired torque. Thus in thisexample only EFF values of 0.2 or greater are capable of generating therequired torque output. Table 1800 in FIG. 18 lists an array of possibleEFF values larger than 0.2 in column 1802.

The firing fraction calculator may search through the rows of the column1802 for an engine speed of 1300 RPM to find a suitable effective firingfraction that provides optimum fuel efficiency and acceptable NVHsimultaneous with delivering the requested engine torque.

By way of example, consider an effective firing faction of 0.57 when theengine load (engine torque fraction) is 0.2. Inspection of table 1800shows that the torque level associated with the high torque firing(CTF′^(t) _(H) of Eq. 5a and 5b) must be less than a CTF of 0.14, entry1804, for acceptable NVH performance. However, it would only generate anETF of 0.57*0.14=0.08, which is well below the requested torque level.Thus use of an EFF of 0.57 would be excluded in this case because itcannot simultaneously satisfy the NVH and torque requirements. Invarious embodiments, the firing fraction calculator 1602 searchesthrough the rows of table 1800, until it finds a suitable effectivefiring fraction. For example, at an effective firing fraction of 0.70the required working chamber output (CTF) to deliver the desiredtorque=0.2/0.70=0.29. Inspection of the table shown in FIG. 19 indicatesthat an EFF of 0.7 corresponds to a FF=1 and an HLF=0. Thus all thefirings are low level firings corresponding to the low level referenceCTF of 0.7 and all of the firing opportunities will involve fires andthere will be no skips in this case.

The required high level working chamber output to deliver the desiredtorque is 0.29 which is below the high level working chamber outputthreshold described in table 1800 (0.58, entry 1806), so the effectivefiring fraction may be considered for use in operating the engine. Thefiring fraction calculator 1602 continues to search through the rows andmay determine that multiple effective firing fractions meet the maximumworking chamber output requirements of the table. Each such effectivefiring fraction is referred to herein as a candidate effective firingfraction.

The firing fraction calculator 1602 then selects one of the candidateeffective firing fractions. This selection may be performed in anysuitable manner. In some implementations, for example, the firingfraction calculator 1602 searches another table or module, whichindicates the relative fuel consumption or efficiency for each ofmultiple effective firing fractions. Based on this fuel consumptioninformation, the calculator selects one of the candidate effectivefiring fractions. That is, the calculator 1602 selects the candidateeffective firing fraction that is most or highly fuel efficient. Theselected effective firing fraction assumes a torque output per highlevel and low level firing that is necessary to deliver the desiredengine output by adjustment of engine parameters to achieve the desiredadjustment factors (as described in relation to Eq. 5). In variousimplementations, the selected effective firing fraction will generallybe chosen based on maximizing fuel economy while operating withacceptable NVH performance Once the effective firing fraction has beenselected or generated, it is passed to the firing timing determinationmodule 1606.

Afterward, at step 1715 of FIG. 17, the firing timing determinationmodule 1606 determines a multi-level skip fire firing sequence. Themulti-level skip fire firing sequence indicates a sequence of firingdecisions (i.e., fires and skips). For each fire in the sequence, aworking chamber torque output level is selected. In various embodiments,this selection is indicated in the sequence.

The multi-level skip fire firing sequence may be generated in a varietyof ways, depending on the needs of a particular application. In someembodiments, for example, the firing timing determination module 1606searches one or more lookup tables that indicate a suitable firingsequence based on one or more selected engine parameters, including theeffective firing fraction. Additionally or alternatively, the firingtiming determination module 1606 may include a sigma delta converter ora circuit that outputs the firing decisions and/or firing sequence. Avariety of different example implementations will be described below inFIGS. 19-22.

FIGS. 19-20 illustrate one particular implementation. In thisimplementation, the firing timing determination module 1606 uses one ormore lookup tables to determine characteristics of a multi-level skipfire firing sequence. An example lookup table is illustrated in FIG. 19.FIG. 19 is a table that indicates a firing fraction (FF) and a highlevel fraction (HLF) for each of a set of effective firing fractions(EFF). The firing fraction (FF) indicates a ratio of fires to firingopportunities (e.g., fires and skips) over an interval of multiplefiring opportunities. The firing fraction does not necessarily assume afixed level of torque output for each fire. A level fraction (LF) is anyvalue that helps indicate a ratio of fires that each generate aparticular (e.g., high or low) level of torque output relative to atotal number of fires. In the illustrated embodiment, a high levelfraction (HLF) is used, which indicates a ratio of high level torqueoutput fires relative to a total number of fires.

In this particular example, the firing of a working chamber can generatetwo different levels of working chamber output, a high level of torqueoutput (e.g., 100% of the reference cylinder torque output) and a lowlevel of torque output (e.g., 70% of the reference cylinder torqueoutput) Since there are two levels of torque output that can begenerated by each fire, if the HLF is ⅓, then ⅓ of the firings over aninterval generate high level torque output and ⅔ of the firings generatea low level torque output. The above system and indicators can bemodified as appropriate for different implementations e.g., for morethan two levels of working chamber torque output.

Using the lookup table illustrated in FIG. 19, the firing timingdetermination module 1606 determines characteristics of a multi-levelskip fire firing sequence (e.g., a high level fraction and a firingfraction) based on the effective firing fraction (EFF) determined instep 1710. Thus, in the example illustrated in FIG. 19, if the EFF is0.57, then the firing fraction is ⅔ and the high level fraction is ½.

In various embodiments, the firing timing determination module 1606 thengenerates a multi-level skip fire firing sequence that is in accordancewith the determined firing characteristics. That is, to use the aboveexample, if the firing fraction is ⅔ and the high level fraction ½, thenthe firing timing determination module 1606 generates a firing sequencethat, over a selected interval, includes a mix of firing opportunityoutcomes. In the interval, ⅔ of firing decisions are fires and ⅓ areskips. Of the fires, ½ are associated with high torque output and therest are associated with low torque output. In some embodiments, thefiring sequence takes the form of a series of CTF, numerical valuese.g., a sequence of 0, 1, 0.7, 0 may indicate a skip, a high torqueoutput fire, a low torque output fire and another skip. The firingsequence may be generated using any suitable algorithm, circuit ormechanism.

One such circuit is illustrated in FIG. 20. FIG. 20 illustrates a sigmadelta circuit 2000, which is part of the firing timing determinationmodule 1606. In the illustrated example, the firing timing determinationmodule 1606 inputs the firing fraction (FF) and the high level fraction(HLF) obtained from the chart in FIG. 19 into the sigma delta circuit2000 in order to generate a suitable multi-level skip fire firingsequence. The circuit 2000 may be implemented in hardware or software(e.g., as part of a software module or implementation in executablecomputer code.) In the figure, the symbol 1/z indicates a delay.

The top portion of the circuit 2000 effectively implements a first ordersigma delta algorithm. In the circuit 2000, the firing fraction (FF) isprovided at input 2002. At subtracter 2004, the firing fraction 2002 andfeedback 2006 are added. The sum 2008 is passed to an accumulator 2010.The accumulator 2010 adds the sum 2008 with feedback 2014 to generatesum 2012. Sum 2012 is fed back into the accumulator 2010 as feedback2014. Sum 2012 is passed to a quantizer 2018 and converted into a binarystream. That is, the quantizer 2018 generates firing value 2020, whichforms a sequence of 0s and 1s. Each 0 indicates that an associatedworking chamber should be skipped. Each 1 indicates that an associatedworking chamber should be fired. The firing value is converted to afloating number at converter 2019 to generate value 2022, which isinputted into the subtracter 2004 as feedback 2006.

The bottom portion of the circuit indicates, for each fire indicated byvalue 2020, what level of torque output the fire should generate todeliver the desired torque. Value 2022 is passed to a multiplier 2023,which also receives the HLF 2001. The multiplier 2023 multiplies thesetwo inputs. Thus, if a skip was indicated at value 2022, this causes theoutput of the multiplier 2023 to be 0. The above multiplication resultsin a value 2026, which is passed to a subtracter 2035. The subtracter2035 subtracts feedback 2027 from the value 2026. The resulting value2037 is passed to the accumulator 2028. The accumulator 2028 adds thevalue 2037 to the feedback 2030. The resulting value 2032 is fed back tothe accumulator 2028 as feedback 2030 and is also passed to thequantizer 2040. The quantizer 2040 converts the input to a binary valuei.e., 0 or 1. (For example, if the input value 2032 is >=1, then theoutput of the quantizer is 1. Otherwise, the output is 0.) The resultinghigh level flag 2042 indicates whether an associated fire (as indicatedby firing value 2020) is a fire that should generate a high level torqueoutput. That is, in this example, if the high level flag 2042 is a 0,the associated fire should generate a low level output. If the highlevel flag 2042 is a 1, the associated fire should generate a high leveloutput. (If firing value 2020 indicates a skip, the high level flag 2042will be a 0 and is not relevant.) The high level flag 2042 is passed toa converter 2044, which converts the value to a floating number. Theresulting number 2046 is passed to the subtracter 2035 as feedback 2027.

The above circuit thus provides a multi-level skip fire firing sequencethat can be used to operate the engine. In this example, based on thefiring fraction (FF) (e.g., as determined in step 1710 of FIG. 17 and/orthe lookup table of FIG. 19), a firing value 2020 is generated. If thefiring value 2020 is a 1, an associated working chamber is fired. Foreach such fire, the high level flag 2042 may be 0 or 1, depending on the(high) level fraction 2001 (e.g., as determined using the lookup tableof FIG. 19.) If the high level flag is a 1, then the fire should be afire that generates a high level of output. If it is a 0, then the fireshould be a fire that generates a low level of output. If the firingvalue 2020 is a 0, then the associated working chamber should beskipped. The passing of this zero value to multiplier 2023 will causethe associated high level flag to be 0 as well. Over time, the circuitcan generate two streams of binary values that indicate firing decisionsand working chamber output levels e.g., 1-0 (i.e., firing value 2020 isa 0 or 1, high level flag 2042 is a 0 or 1), 0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 1-1).

FIG. 21 illustrates another circuit 2100 arranged to generate amulti-level skip fire firing sequence based on an effective firingfraction (EFF) e.g., as determined in step 1710 of FIG. 17. Such acircuit is sometimes called a multi-bit or multi-level sigma delta. Frominput 2102, which represents the effective firing fraction, the circuitis arranged to generate an output 2130, which indicates a skip, a fireat high level torque output or a fire at low level torque output.

In the circuit, an input 2102, which is the EFF determined in step 1710,is passed to a subtracter 2104. The feedback 2132 is subtracted from theinput 2102. The resulting value 2106 is passed to an accumulator 2107.The accumulator 2107 adds feedback 2108 to the value 2106. The resultingsum 2110 is fed back to the accumulator 2107 as feedback 2108. The sum2110 is also passed to the subtracter 2126 and the subtracter 2112.Value 2124 is defined as a 1, which indicates a high level of workingchamber output. The value 2124 is passed to switch 2122 and tosubtracter 2126. Subtracter 2126 subtracts value 2124 from sum 2110 togenerate value 2128, which is passed to the switch 2122.

Value 2114 is defined in this example as 0.7 and is intended to indicatea low level of working chamber output. Value 2114 is passed tosubtracter 2112 and to switch 2118. Subtracter 2112 subtracts value 2114from sum 2110 to generate value 2140, which is passed to the switch2118.

The switch 2118 receives three inputs: value 2114, value 2140 and value2116. Value 2116 indicates the lowest level of working chamber output(e.g., a skip that generates no torque). The switch 2118 passes throughvalue 2114 or value 2116 as its output depending on value 2140. If value2140 is less than 0, the output of switch 2118 is equal to the value2116. If the value 2140 is greater than or equal to 0, then the outputof the switch 2118 is value 2114. The output 2120 of the switch ispassed to switch 2122.

Switch 2122 receives three inputs: value 2120, value 2128 and value2124. The switch passes as output value 2120 or value 2124 depending onvalue 2128. If sum 2128 is less than 0, the output of the switch 2130 isvalue 2120. If the value 2128 is greater than or equal to 0, then theoutput of the switch 2130 is value 2124. The output of the switch 2122is passed to subtracter 2104 as feedback 2132.

The output 2130 of the switch 2122 indicates the firing decision and, ifthe firing decision involves a fire, what the torque output level of thefire is. In the illustrated embodiment, the output 2130 is either a 0, 1or 0.7. Thus, based on the input 2102, the output 2130 indicates whetheran associated working chamber during a particular working cycle shouldbe skipped, fired at a high level of output or fired at a low level ofoutput. Over time, the circuit 2100 is arranged to generate a string ofvalues (e.g., 0, 1, 0.7, 0.7, 0, 1, etc.) that form a multi-level skipfire firing sequence (e.g., indicating skip, fire at high level torque,fire at low level torque, fire at low level torque, skip, fire at highlevel torque, etc.)

It should be noted that multi-level skip firing sequences have a mixtureof at least three different levels, 0, 0.7, and 1 in the above example.By using three different levels, many different sequences can result inthe same or similar effective firing fractions. The firing fractioncalculator 1602 or the firing timing determination module 1606 (FIG. 16)may be used to determine which of these multi-level skip firingsequences yields the best fuel economy simultaneous with delivering therequested output torque level and acceptable NVH characteristics.Somewhat counter-intuitively it may sometimes be desirable to inserthigh torque output firings even when the overall engine torque outputcould be provided by using all low output torque pulses because the useof the high output torque pulse may shift the engine generated noise andvibration away from resonances or other undesirable frequencies.

FIG. 22 illustrates another approach for determining a multi-level skipfire firing sequence based on the effective firing fraction determinedin step 1710 of FIG. 17. In this approach, the firing timingdetermination module 1606 uses one or more lookup tables to select amulti-level skip fire firing sequence based on the effective firingfraction (EFF) determined in step 1710.

FIG. 22 includes an example lookup table 2200. The lookup table 2200indicates multiple different multi-level skip fire firing sequences.Each sequence (i.e., each row in the table) involves a number of firingopportunity outcomes and is associated with a different effective firingfraction. Each firing opportunity outcome is defined in the table as a 0(designating a skip), a 1 (designating a fire at a high torque outputlevel), or a 0.7 (designating a fire at a low torque output level). Eachfiring opportunity is associated with a particular cylinder, asindicated by the columns associated with cylinders 1-4 of a 4-cylinderengine.

In this example, the firing timing determination module 1606 uses thetable 2200 to determine a multi-level skip fire firing sequence thatdelivers substantially the same amount of engine torque as the effectivefiring fraction determined in step 1710. By way of example, if theeffective firing fraction is 0.47, the associated firing sequence is0.7, 0.7, 0, 0.7, 0.7, 0, 0.7, 0.7, 0, 0.7, 0.7, 0. This means that onconsecutive working cycles working chambers are fired, fired, skipped,fired, fired, skipped, fired, fired, skipped, fired, fired and skipped.The use of the 0.7 for each fire and the absence of a 1 indicates thatall fired working chambers are fired to generate a low torque output,not a high torque output.

It should be appreciated that FIGS. 18-22 illustrate only a few ways ofdetermining a suitable multi-level skip fire firing sequence, and thatthe above techniques may be modified as appropriate to meet the needs ofdifferent applications. In some implementations, for example, aneffective firing fraction does not need to be calculated and/or a sigmadelta converter is not required. Various embodiments involve determininga requested torque (e.g., as described in connection with step 1705 ofFIG. 17) and consulting one or more lookup tables to determine the skipfire firing sequence based on the requested torque. In some approaches,the functionality of the tables is provided instead by a softwaremodule, software code, an algorithm, or a circuit.

Returning to FIG. 17, at step 1720, the firing timing determinationmodule 1606 transmits the skip fire sequence to the fire control unit1610. The fire control unit 1610 then assigns the firing decisions toassociated working chambers and operates the working chambersaccordingly. That is, as discussed in connection with step 1715, invarious embodiments, each fire in the sequence is associated with aselection of a torque output level (e.g., a high torque output, a lowtorque output.) The fire control unit 1610 assigns each fire in thesequence and its associated torque output level to a particular workingchamber. The working chambers are fired and operated to generate theirassociated torque output levels.

By way of example, if the firing sequence indicates that workingchambers be sequentially skipped, fired at a high torque output and thenfired at a low torque output, the firing control unit 1610 directs theassociated working chambers to be operated in this manner. In variousembodiments, this may involve independently controlling intake valves ofthe associated working chambers to generate the different torque outputlevels indicated in the skip fire firing sequence. The working chambersmay be operated using any of the valve control techniques describedherein (e.g., as discussed in connection with FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2-11,12A-12F, 13A-13B, 14A-14H and 15) to generate the different torqueoutput levels. The working chambers may also have any of the designs orarrangements discussed herein or in the above figures. It should beappreciated that in various embodiments where not all working chambersare capable of being fired/skipped or controlled at different torquelevels the control methods described in FIGS. 17-22 may includeprovisions that recognize the engine hardware limitation and directworking chamber high-level-firings/low-level-firings-firings/skipsappropriately.

In various embodiments, the determination of an effective firingfraction (step 1710), the determination of a firing sequence and/or theselection of high or low level torque output for selected working cyclesand working chambers (step 1715) is performed on a firing opportunity byfiring opportunity basis. Thus, the various operations described abovecan be performed quickly in response to changes in requested torque orother conditions. In other embodiments, the above operations areperformed somewhat less frequently e.g., every second firing opportunityor every engine cycle.

The operations of method 1700 of FIG. 17 may be performed using any ofthe systems described in FIGS. 1-15. By way of example, method 1700refers to the generation of a firing sequence in which each fire isassociated with a particular torque output level. In variousembodiments, these torque output levels are the different power levelsor torque output levels discussed in connection with FIGS. 13A-13B and14A-14H. That is, when the firing sequence (step 1720 of FIG. 17) isimplemented at the engine and selected working chambers are fired togenerate different levels of torque output, any of the valve controlmechanisms and/or other systems described in the figures are used togenerate those different levels of torque output.

Transitioning Between Engine Torque Fractions and Effective FiringFractions

One challenge in skip fire engine control is managing transitionsbetween different engine output torque levels. Consider an example inwhich the accelerator is slightly depressed indicating a desire for moretorque. This increase in torque request can only be accomplished byincreasing the cylinder load beyond that level that provides acceptablelevels of NVH. Consequently a different firing fraction and levelfraction are chosen. However, if the new pattern is abruptly used, theresulting change in delivered torque may be so abrupt that it creates aseparate NVH problem. As a result, it may be desirable to have a moregradual transition between the two effective firing fractions.

Such transitions can be managed using a variety of techniques. For one,spark timing could be adjusted to lower the torque output during thetransition. However, using spark timing in this manner is generally notfuel efficient. Another option is to manage the transition usingmulti-level skip fire engine control.

One example technique is described in FIG. 23. FIG. 23 illustrates amethod 2300 for using multi-level skip fire engine control to manage atransition between first and second effective firing fractionsInitially, at step 2305, an engine is operated using a particulareffective firing fraction. Afterward, the engine is operated using asecond, different effective firing fraction (step 2310). These differenteffective firing fractions will generally be associated with differentengine output torque levels although in some cases the engine torque mayremain constant through an effective firing fraction transition.

Each of the effective firing fractions may involve operating the enginein a skip fire manner. In some cases there may be a variety of firingpatterns while in other cases there may be a limited number of firingpatterns, e.g., rolling cylinder deactivation, where a cylindersubsequently fires and skips on alternating firing opportunities. Insome cases the effective firing fraction may correspond to a variabledisplacement operation, e.g. in which a fixed set of cylinders aredeactivated or all cylinder operation is used. Even though variabledisplacement operation with fixed cylinder sets is not skip fireoperation, if supported by the engine hardware, skip fire control may beused to transition between the various fixed displacement levels. Insome cases the effective firing fraction may be zero, such as whencoasting. During each operational state in which a particular firingfraction is used to operate the engine, the engine may be operated usingany of the techniques described in connection with FIGS. 16-22, or usingother engine control techniques.

At step 2315, during the transition between the two effective firingfractions, the engine is operated using a multi-level skip fire firingsequence. The multi-level skip fire firing sequence may be generated ina variety of ways, depending on the needs of a particular application.In some embodiments, for example, the effective firing fraction isgradually raised to one or more intermediate firing fractions during thetransition. A multi-level skip fire firing sequence is generated basedon the intermediate firing fraction(s) and used to operate the engineduring the transition. The rate of change in the effective firingfraction during the transition may be based on any suitable engineparameter e.g., the absolute manifold pressure. Any of the techniquesdescribed in connection with the figures (e.g., one or more lookuptables, a sigma delta converter, etc.) may be used to generate themulti-level skip fire firing sequence. Additionally, various techniquesfor using skip fire operation during a transition between modes aredescribed in co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/799,389,which is incorporated herein in its entirety for all purposes. Any ofthe techniques described therein may also be used.

One approach involves storing predetermined multi-level skip fire firingsequences in a library (e.g, in one or more lookup tables.) In variousembodiments, each skip fire firing sequence is associated withparticular effective firing fractions. To determine a suitablemulti-level firing sequence to use for a transition, the firing timingdetermination module 1606 consults the library and selects one of thepredetermined sequences. The selected sequence is then used to operatethe engine during the transition.

Consider an example in which a four-cylinder engine is operated using afiring sequence in which the four working chambers are fired or skippedbased on the pattern 0.7, 0, 0.7, 0. That is, the working chambers 1-4are repeatedly fired, skipped, fired and skipped, where each fire is alow level output firing. (e.g., involving a CTF=0.7.) Thus, theequivalent effective firing fraction for this type of engine operationis 0.35. The engine then transitions to another type of engine operationin which the firing pattern will be 0.7, 0.7, 0.7, 0.7. That is, theworking chambers will be repeatedly fired and no working chambers willbe skipped. Each fire will generate the same low level of output (e.g.,CTF=0.7.) The effective firing fraction for this type of engineoperation is thus 0.7. That is, the engine output torque will double inthe transition from the first effective firing fraction (0.35) to thesecond effective firing fraction (0.7) assuming other engine parameters,such as MAP and sparking time remain fixed.

In this example, the firing timing determination module 1606 consultsone or more lookup tables. Based on the associated effective firingfractions, the lookup table(s) provide the following transitionalmulti-level skip fire firing sequences (underlined below):

0, 0.7, 0, 0.7 (first effective firing fraction)0, 1, 0.7, 00.7, 0.7, 0, 0.70.7, 0.7, 0.7, 0.7 (second effective firing fraction).

The working chambers 1-4 are then operated based on the abovetransitional patterns as the engine transitions between the twoeffective firing fractions. As a result, engine torque has been moregradually increased, thus helping to smooth the transition and improvepassenger comfort.

It should be appreciated that the above use of transitional multi-levelskip fire firing sequences may be used in a wide variety of enginetypes. Accordingly, it is not required that each working chamber in theengine be capable of deactivation and/or of firing at multiple torqueoutput levels. It is possible that only one or some of the workingchambers will have the above functionality e.g., as previously discussedin connection with FIGS. 14A-14H. In the above example, for instance,only the first and third cylinders are capable of being deactivated. Thesecond and fourth cylinders are fired during every engine cycle and arecapable of adjusting their working chamber output between high and lowlevels.

In some situations, during a transition between two effective firingfractions, it can be desirable to change the level fraction. That is, inan engine control system that allows for multiple levels of workingchamber torque output, during the transition between effective firingfractions it can be useful to change the frequency with which aparticular working chamber output level is used.

Consider an example in which an engine is shifting between two effectivefiring fractions. When operating the engine using the first effectivefiring fraction, the effective firing fraction is ½ and the workingchambers 1-4 of the engine are being operated using a sequence of1-0-1-0 (i.e., fire at a high level of working chamber torque output,skip, fire at a high level of working chamber torque output, skip.) Whenoperating the engine using the second effective firing fraction, theeffective firing fraction is 1 and the engine is operated using asequence of 1-1-1-1 (i.e., every working chamber is fired at a highlevel of output.) Thus, the engine torque output is doubled during thetransition between the two effective firing fractions assuming otherengine parameters remain fixed.

Since all of the aforementioned fires involve generating maximum workingchamber output, the firing fraction for each of the aforementionedoperational states equals the effective firing fraction (which assumesthat each fire involves a CTF=1.0) and the high level fraction (HLF) forboth states is 1 (i.e., 100% of fires involve high level output.) Inthis example, the working chambers are each also capable of being firedat a low level of working chamber torque output (e.g., CTF=0.7). Eacheffective firing fraction can be characterized by the following values:(X, Y), in which X=the firing fraction and Y=the HLF as shown in FIG.19. Thus, the two states are characterized by (½, 1) and (1,1).

During a transition between two different effective firing fractions, itis sometimes desirable to have the engine operated in a skip fire mannerusing a different level fraction than the one used while the engine isoperated in one or both the states. In the context of the above example,during the transition there is a change from (½, 1) to (1, 0) i.e., afiring sequence of 0.7-0.7-0.7-0.7. That is, during a subset of thefiring in the transition between the two states, the working chambersare fired at a low level of output (e.g., CTF=0.7). The effective firingfraction thus transitions from ½ to 0.7 to 1. An advantage of using lowlevel firings during the transition is that the NVH generated by suchfirings is lower. This is because the firings involve lower cylinderloads and also because there are no skips in the firing pattern.

In the above example, the engine was operated using a high levelfraction of 1 when operating at a fixed effective firing fraction and 0during a transition between the fixed firing fractions. The reverse canalso take place. In other words, consider an example in which eachworking chamber can again be fired at one of two output levels, a highoutput level (e.g., CTF=1.0) or a low output level (e.g., CTF=0.7). Inthe initial effective firing fraction, the engine is operated using (½,0). In the target effective firing fraction, the engine is operatedusing (1, 0). That is, while operating at a fixed effective firingfraction, the engine is operated using a high level fraction of 0 (i.e.,all fires generate a lower level of torque output.) The transition,however, involves a different high level fraction. In this example, theengine is operated in a skip fire manner using a high level fraction of1 i.e., (½, 1). Thus, the effective firing fraction changes from 0.35 to0.5 to 0.7.

In other embodiments the effective firing fraction can be filtered toslow the transition between the initial and final firing fraction. Thiscan be accomplished by filtering the firing fraction, filtering thelevel fraction, or filtering both quantities. The filtering techniquesand time constants for the firing fraction and level fraction mayequivalent or may differ depending on the nature of the transition.Methods of filtering and managing a transition are described in U.S.patent application Ser. Nos. 13/654,244 and 14/857,371 which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety for all purposes. Anyof these methods may be used during the transition. For example, in someembodiments the EFF is transitioned at a constant rate, by transitioningthe FF at a constant rate and the LF monotonically at an appropriatelycalculated rate. Alternatively, one could transition first to anintermediate point, then to the final fraction (e.g. ½ to 0.7, to 1) sothe LF or FF does not change monotonically. The intermediate value couldbe determined from a lookup table; for example, a 2D table works wellwhere one dimension is the starting fraction and the second dimension isthe target fraction. A third dimension may be added, such as an engineparameter or the rate of change of the accelerator pedal position. Also,in some cases it may be desirable to maintain a constant effectivefiring fraction, but change the firing fraction and level fraction. Inthis case the FF and LF could transition at constant opposing rates,such that their product, the EFF remains constant.

Knock Detection and Management

Multi-level skip fire engine control can be used to help manageknocking. Knocking tends to occur more frequently under higher pressuresor temperatures e.g., when the working chamber is being fired withmaximum amounts of air and fuel to generate the highest possible torqueoutput. Thus, under selected conditions, it is desirable to fire workingchambers at a lower torque output level when a knock has been detected.

Referring now to FIG. 24, an example method 2400 for reducing thelikelihood of knock in a multi-level skip fire engine control systemwill be described. Initially, at step 2405, the engine is operated usinga multi-level skip fire firing sequence. That is, a multi-level skipfire engine controller 1630 receives a torque request and generates amulti-level skip fire firing sequence to deliver the desired torque. Theengine is operated based on the firing sequence. In various embodiments,the engine is operated using any of the multi-level skip fireoperations, mechanisms and/or systems described in this application(e.g., as described in FIG. 16 or 17).

At step 2410, an engine diagnostics module 1650 (FIG. 16) detects a(potential) knock in one or more working chambers of the engine 1612.Any suitable technique or sensors may be used to detect possibleknocking in the engine. In some implementations, for example, the enginediagnostics module 1650 receives sensor data from one or more knocksensors that detect vibration patterns generated by the working chambersof the engine 1612. The engine diagnostics module 1650 analyzes thevibration patterns to determine whether a knock may have taken place.

In response to the detection of a (potential) knock in a working chamberof the engine 1612, the engine diagnostics module 1650 requires one ormore selected working chambers during one or more selected workingcycles to be fired only at lower output level(s) (step 2415). Consideran example multi-level skip fire engine control system in which aparticular working chamber can be fired at low (e.g., CTF=0.5), medium(CTF=0.7) and high (CTF=1.0) levels. In response to the detection of a(potential) knock in a particular working chamber, the enginediagnostics module 1650 prevents the working chamber from being fired atone or more selected levels (e.g., the medium and/or high levels.) Putanother way, the (high) level fraction may be reduced/changed (e.g.,from 1 to 0). This restriction may be applied to a single workingchamber, a subset of the working chambers or all the working chambers.It may also be applied to a selected number of working cycles, or to allworking cycles for a predetermined period of time.

In various embodiments, the engine diagnostics module 1650 transmits theabove requirement to the firing timing determination module 1606, sothat future skip fire sequences take such limitations into account whendetermining a sequence to deliver a requested torque. At step 2420, theengine is operated in skip fire manner based on the requirement. Thatis, the engine is operated as described in step 2405, except that therequested torque is delivered using only the allowed working chamberoutput levels.

Knocking tends to occur more frequently when a working chamber is firedto generate high torque output i.e., at a higher CTF. This is becausepressures and temperatures within the working chamber tend to besignificantly greater under such conditions. There are means of reducingthe pressures and temperatures in the working chamber e.g., by adjustingthe spark timing. However, such techniques generally tend to be lessfuel efficient. By limiting firings to lower torque output levels byreducing the air charge, the likelihood of knocking can be reduced in amore fuel efficient manner.

Optionally, the engine diagnostics module 1650 includes a feature forre-enabling high torque output firings in response to high torquerequests. At step 2425, the engine controller 1630 receives a hightorque request e.g., based on data received from an accelerator pedalposition sensor. In various embodiments, the high torque request mustexceed a predetermined threshold for the method to progress to step2430.

At step 2430, in response to the high torque request, the enginediagnostics module 1650 causes the engine control system to resume theuse of high output firings. That is, some or all of the restrictions onhigh output firings that were implemented at step 2415 are removed. Atstep 2435, the engine diagnostics module 1650, fire control unit 1610and/or power train parameter adjusting module 1608 perform one or moresuitable operations for lowering the risk of further knocking. Any knowntechnique may be used to reduce the risk of knocking e.g., spark timingadjustment.

Deceleration Cylinder Cutoff and Start/Stop Feature

Multi-level skip fire engine control can also be used in certainsituations where no working chambers are being fired and the manifoldabsolute pressure rises to atmospheric levels. For example, when avehicle is coasting and/or coming to a stop, the driver may release hisor her foot from the accelerator pedal. In such a situation, variousengine systems may shift to a mode referred to as decel cylinder cutoff(DCCO.) In this mode, to save fuel, the cylinders of the engine aredeactivated while no torque is being requested from the engine. Duringthat period, the intake and exhaust valves are shut and no air isdelivered from the intake manifold into the working chambers of theengine.

Another situation is when a start/stop feature is implemented. That is,in some engine systems, when the vehicle has stopped, the engine, ratherthan idling, is turned off to conserve fuel. In both of the abovesituations, since no air is being delivered from the intake manifoldinto the working chambers, the manifold absolute pressure (MAP)equalizes with the atmospheric pressure. One problem with this is whenthe accelerator pedal is depressed again or some other engine controldemands torque, the high MAP may cause the engine to deliver more torquethan is required. If no measures are taken to mitigate this torquesurge, the vehicle and/or engine may abruptly accelerate.

Multi-level skip fire engine control may be used to address the aboveissue. One example method 2500 is illustrated in FIG. 25. Initially, atstep 2505, the engine is operated using a multi-level skip fire firingsequence. That is, a multi-level skip fire engine controller 1630receives torque requests and generates multi-level skip fire firingsequences to deliver the desired torque. The engine is operated based onthe firing sequences. In various embodiments, the engine is operatedusing any of the multi-level skip fire operations, mechanisms or systemsdescribed in this application (e.g., as described in FIG. 16 or 17).

At step 2510, the engine controller 1630 (or any suitable module in thecontroller) detects that one or more conditions exist. In someembodiments, for example, the controller 1630 detects that the enginehad been coasting/decelerating, has entered DCCO and/or that torque hasnow been requested. In other embodiments, the controller 1630 detectsthat the engine has been stopped using a start/stop feature and thattorque is again being requested.

In response to the detection of the condition(s), the controller 1630requires one or more selected working chambers during one or moreselected working cycles to be fired only at lower torque output level(s)(step 2515). The requirement may take a wide variety of forms. In someembodiments, for example, the controller 1630 prevents any use of one ormore higher working chamber output levels (e.g., CTF=1.0). Put anotherway, the high level fraction is reduced or maintained at a lower level(e.g., set to 0, ½, etc.) The requirement can include any of theoperations and features described above in connection with step 2415 ofFIG. 24 e.g., any number of working chambers or working cycles may berestricted in this manner, etc.

At step 2515, the engine is operated in a multi-level skip fire mannerbased on the requirement. That is, the engine is operated as describedin step 2505, except that the requested torque is delivered using onlythe allowed working chamber output levels. In some embodiments, therequirement is in effect until a particular condition is met or for apredetermined period of time, after which normal multi-level skip fireengine operation is resumed. Alternatively or additionally, the highlevel fraction may be gradually increased over time until normalmulti-level skip fire engine operation is resumed. This gradual increasemay be adjusted dynamically based one or more engine parameters e.g.,the manifold absolute pressure. The use of lower high level fractionsand/or lower working chamber torque output levels helps to mitigate theeffects of the high MAP.

Optionally, the engine controller 1630 may have a feature forre-enabling high output firings in response to high torque requests. Atstep 2525, the engine controller 1630 receives a high torque requeste.g., based on data received from an accelerator pedal position sensor.In various embodiments, the high torque request must exceed apredetermined threshold for the method to progress to step 2530.

At step 2530, in response to the high torque request, the enginecontroller 1630 causes the fire control unit 1610 to resume the use ofhigh output firings. That is, some or all of the restrictions on hightorque output firings that were implemented at step 2515 are removed.

Any of the steps of the method 2500 may be modified as appropriate fordifferent applications. By way of example, U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/743,581, which is hereinafter referred to as the '581 applicationand is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes,describes various techniques for implementing a start/stop feature withskip fire engine control. Any of the features or operations described inthe '581 application may be included in method 2500 as well.

Engine Diagnostics Applications

The use of multi-level skip fire engine control can also have an impacton the design of engine diagnostics systems. In various enginediagnostics systems, an engine problem is detected based on themeasurement of a particular engine parameter (e.g., crankshaftacceleration.) In various embodiments, such systems take into accountthe effects of firings that generate different levels of torque output.

Referring to FIG. 26, an example method 2600 for diagnosing an engineproblem is described. Initially, at step 2605, the engine diagnosticsmodule 1650 obtains firing information e.g., from the firing timingdetermination module 1606 and/or the fire control unit 1610. The firinginformation includes but is not limited to firing decisions (e.g., skipsor fires), firing sequences and the identities of associated workingchambers. The firing information also includes information indicatingthe level of working chamber output associated with each decision tofire a working chamber.

At step 2610, the engine diagnostics module 1650 assigns a window toeach firing opportunity. The window may be any suitable time period orinterval that corresponds to a target firing opportunity of a targetworking chamber. A particular engine parameter will later be measuredacross the window to help determine if an engine problem has occurred inthe target working chamber during the window. The characteristics of thewindow may differ depending on the type of engine parameter measurement.

Consider an example that involves a four stroke, eight cylinder engine.In this example, the assigned window is an angular window segment thatcorresponds to a 90° rotation of the crankshaft. During that window, atarget working chamber is fired. That is, in this example, the windowcovers the first half the power stroke for the target working chamber.It should be appreciated that the window may have any suitable length,depending on the needs of a particular application.

At step 2615, the engine diagnostics module 1650 determines, during theassigned window, the working chamber torque output associated with oneor more of the working chambers during the window. Put another way, invarious embodiments, the firing timing determination module 1606 and/orfire control unit 1610 has assigned a firing decision to each workingchamber. During a particular window assigned in step 2610, a targetworking chamber is being fired. During the same window, the otherworking chambers are at different stages of an operational cycle. To usethe above example, some working chambers have already completed thepower stroke; other are still completing or will later enter the powerstroke. For their associated power strokes, each working chamber isarranged to be skipped or fired. For each fire, a particular workingchamber output level has been assigned e.g., a firing at a low torqueoutput, a firing at a high torque output, etc. The engine diagnosticsmodule 1650 determines the working chamber torque output associated withone, some or all of the working chambers during the assigned window.

At step 2620, the engine diagnostics module 1650 provides an engineparameter threshold or model. In some embodiments, for example, theengine diagnostics module 1650 determines an engine parameter threshold(e.g., a crankshaft acceleration threshold) that will be used to laterhelp determine whether an engine problem exists. That is, the thresholdhelps indicate an expected value for a later engine parametermeasurement, given the firing information (step 2605) and torque outputlevel determinations (step 2615). In other embodiments, the enginediagnostics module 1650 determines a model (e.g., a torque model) thatcan also be used to help identify an engine problem. By way of example,a torque model may be used to help indicate an expected torque thatshould be generated by the working chambers during the window. The modeltakes into account the firing decisions made for one or more workingchambers during the window (e.g., as indicated by the firing informationobtained in step 2605) and, for each fire, the associated torque outputlevel (e.g., as indicated by the determinations made in step 2615.)

At step 2625, the engine diagnostics module 1650 measures an engineparameter during the window. A variety of engine parameters may be used,depending on the needs of a particular application and the engineproblem that is being diagnosed. Some designs, for example, involvemeasuring crankshaft acceleration, MAP, and/or oxygen sensor outputduring the window, although any suitable parameter may be measured. Itshould be appreciated that different measurements may use differentwindows.

Based on the measurement (step 2625) and the threshold/model (step2620), the engine diagnostics module 1650 then determines whether anengine problem exists. This determination may be performed in a varietyof ways. In some embodiments, for example, the crankshaft accelerationis measured (step 2625). The measurement is used to estimate an actualtorque generated during the window. This is compared to an expectedtorque calculated using the torque model (e.g., step 2620). If theactual torque is less than the expected torque, then the enginediagnostics module 1650 determines that a engine problem (e.g., amisfire) may exist. In other implementations, the crankshaftacceleration measurement is compared against a threshold (e.g., step2620) and a torque estimate is not necessary. If the actual measurementexceeds the threshold, then it is assumed that an engine problem existsor is likely to exist.

To help illustrate how some embodiments of the method may be performed,the following example is provided. In this example, the engine is a fourstroke, eight-cylinder in which cylinders are fired in the order1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3. Each cylinder has independently controlled intakevalves and/or is capable of operating the valves using different cycles,as described in connection with FIGS. 1-15. As a result, each cylinder,when fired, is capable of being fired at one of two torque outputlevels: e.g., low torque output (e.g., CTF=0.7) or high output(CTF=1.0).

The engine diagnostics module 1650 is arranged to determine whetherworking chamber 8 is misfiring. The module obtains firing information(step 2605), which indicates that during consecutive firingopportunities, working chambers 1, 8, 7, 2, 6, 5, 4 and 3 will beskipped, fired, skipped, fired, skipped, fired, skipped and fired,respectively. The module assigns a window to the above firingopportunity for working chamber 8 (step 2610). The assigned window takesplace while cylinder 8 is in the first half of its power stroke andcovers 90° rotation of the crankshaft.

In this example, the engine diagnostics module 1650 also determines thateach of the above fires are at low torque output (step 2615), includingthe firing of working chamber 8. In this example, the module 1650determines a crankshaft acceleration threshold that takes the cylindertorque output level into account. That is, if the engine diagnosticsmodule 1650 determined instead that one, some or all of the above fireswere instead at a high torque output, then the threshold would bedifferent.

In various embodiments, the crankshaft acceleration threshold isparticularly strongly influenced by the operation of working chamber 8i.e., whether cylinder 8 is fired at a low or high torque output.However, the torque output levels associated with other cylinders mayhave an impact as well. For example, during the assigned window, whencylinder 8 is in the first half of the power stroke, cylinder 1 is inthe second half of its power stroke. Whether cylinder 1 is fired at alow rather than a high torque output may also significantly influencethe threshold.

The engine diagnostics module 1650 then measures the actual crankshaftacceleration during the window (step 2625). The module 1650 compares themeasurement to the threshold. If the measurement falls (substantially)below the threshold, then it is determined that working chamber 8misfired (or that there is a likelihood that it has misfired.)

The above example and method 2600 may be modified in a variety of waysfor different applications. By way of example, co-assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 14/207,109, 14/582,008, 14/700,494, and14/206,918, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entiretyfor all purposes, describe various engine diagnostics systems andoperations. Any of the features or operations described in theseapplications may be incorporated into method 2600.

Any and all of the described components may be arranged to refresh theirdeterminations/calculations very rapidly. In some preferred embodiments,these determinations/calculations are refreshed on a firing opportunityby firing opportunity basis although, that is not a requirement. In someembodiments, for example, the determination of an (effective) firingfraction (step 1710 of FIG. 17), the determination of a multi-level skipfire firing sequence (step 1715) and/or the operation of an engine basedon the sequence (step 1720) are performed on a firing opportunity byfiring opportunity basis. An advantage of firing opportunity by firingopportunity control of the various components is that it makes theengine very responsive to changed inputs and/or conditions. Althoughfiring opportunity by firing opportunity operation is very effective, itshould be appreciated that the various components can be refreshed moreslowly while still providing good control (e.g., the firingfraction/sequence determinations may be performed every revolution ofthe crankshaft, every two or more firing opportunities, etc.).

The invention has been described primarily in the context of operating anaturally aspirated, 4-stroke, internal combustion piston enginessuitable for use in motor vehicles. However, it should be appreciatedthat the described applications are very well suited for use in a widevariety of internal combustion engines. These include engines forvirtually any type of vehicle—including cars, trucks, boats, aircraft,motorcycles, scooters, etc.; and virtually any other application thatinvolves the firing of working chambers and utilizes an internalcombustion engine. The various described approaches work with enginesthat operate under a wide variety of different thermodynamiccycles—including virtually any type of two stroke piston engines, dieselengines, Otto cycle engines, Dual cycle engines, Miller cycle engines,Atkinson cycle engines, Wankel engines and other types of rotaryengines, mixed cycle engines (such as dual Otto and diesel engines),hybrid engines, radial engines, etc. It is also believed that thedescribed approaches will work well with newly developed internalcombustion engines regardless of whether they operate utilizingcurrently known, or later developed thermodynamic cycles. Boostedengines, such as those using a supercharger or turbocharger may also beused. In this case the maximum cylinder load may correspond to themaximum cylinder air charge obtained by boosting the air intake.

It should be also appreciated that any of the methods or operationsdescribed herein may be stored in a suitable computer readable medium inthe form of executable computer code. The operations are carried outwhen a processor executes the computer code. Such operations include butare not limited to any and all operations performed by the firingfraction calculator 1602, the firing timing determination module 1606,the firing control unit 1610, the power train parameter adjusting module1608, the engine controller 1630, the engine diagnostics module 1650, orany other module, component or controller described in this application.

Some of the above embodiments refer to the deactivation of a workingchamber. In various implementations, the deactivation of a workingchamber involves preventing the pumping of air through the skippedworking chamber during one or more selected skipped working cycles. Aworking chamber may be skipped or deactivated in a variety of ways. Invarious approaches, a low pressure spring is formed in the workingchamber i.e., after exhaust gases are released from the working chamberin a prior working cycle, neither the intake valves nor the exhaustvalves are opened during a subsequent working cycle, thus forming a lowpressure vacuum in the working chamber. In still other embodiments, ahigh pressure spring is formed in the skipped working chamber i.e., airand/or exhaust gases are prevented from escaping the working chamber.The working chamber may be deactivated in any suitable manner such thatthe working chamber contributes little or no power during its powerstroke.

This application also refers to the concept of a working chamber that isused to generate different levels of torque or have different air chargeor cylinder load levels. By way of example, these levels of torqueoutput may be indicated in a multi-level skip fire firing sequenceand/or stored in a lookup table or library. As previously discussed, insome embodiments, each such level of torque output is implemented usinga distinct set of operations, which are described in this application(e.g., the opening of one intake valve and not another, the opening ofboth intake valves, the use of different cycles for different intakevalves, etc.) In some approaches, the level of torque generated by aworking chamber may vary on a firing opportunity by firing opportunitybasis e.g., a cylinder may be skipped during a working cycle, firedduring the next working cycle at a high torque output, fired during thenext working cycle at a low torque output, and then skipped or fired ateither torque output level.

Various embodiments of the invention have been primarily described inthe context of a skip fire control arrangement in which cylinders aredeactivated during skipped working cycles by deactivating both theintake and exhaust valves in order to prevent air from being pumpedthrough the cylinders during skipped working cycles. However, it shouldbe appreciated that some skip fire valve actuation schemes contemplatedeactivating only exhaust valves, or only the intake valves toeffectively deactivate the cylinders and prevent the pumping of airthrough the cylinders. Several of the described approaches work equallywell in such applications. Further, although it is generally preferableto deactivate cylinders, and thereby prevent the passing of air throughthe deactivated cylinders during skipped working cycles, there are somespecific times when it may be desirable to pass air through a cylinderduring a selected skipped working cycle. By way of example, this may bedesirable when engine braking is desired and/or for specific emissionsequipment related diagnostic or operational requirements. It may also beuseful when transitioning out of a DCCO (decel cylinder cut off) state.The described valve control approaches work equally well in suchapplications.

This application refers to various systems and techniques forselectively generating multiple different (e.g., high or low) torqueoutput levels from fired working chambers. In various embodiments, itshould be appreciated that during the selected working cycles duringwhich the working chambers are fired, various engine conditions mayremain substantially the same (although this is not a requirement.) Suchengine conditions include but are not limited to manifold absolutepressure, cam phaser settings, engine speed and/or throttle position.Put another way, this application describes various example valvecontrol systems and technologies (e.g., as discussed in connection withFIGS. 1A, 1B, 2-11, 12A-12F, 13A, 13B, 14A-14H and 15) that are arrangedto generate different levels of torque output for fired working chamberswithout requiring that, for example, the throttle position, MAP, enginespeed and/or cam phaser settings be varied to generate those differentlevels of torque output.

Various implementations of the invention are very well suited for use inwith conjunction dynamic skip fire operation in which an accumulator orother mechanism tracks the portion of a firing that has been requested,but not delivered, or that has been delivered, but not requested suchthat firing decisions may be made on a firing opportunity by firingopportunity basis. However the described techniques are equally wellsuited for use in virtually any skip fire application (operational modesin which individual cylinders are sometimes fired and sometime skippedduring operation in a particular operational mode) including skip fireoperation using fixed firing patterns or firing sequences as may occurwhen using rolling cylinder deactivation and/or various other skip firetechniques. Similar techniques may also be used in variable strokeengine control in which the number of strokes in each working cycle arealtered to effectively vary the displacement of an engine.

Although only a few embodiments of the invention have been described indetail, it should be appreciated that the invention may be implementedin many other forms without departing from the spirit or scope of theinvention. There are several references to the term, firing fraction. Itshould be appreciated that a firing fraction may be conveyed orrepresented in a wide variety of ways. For example, the firing fractionmay take the form of a firing pattern, sequence or any other firingcharacteristic that involves or inherently conveys the aforementionedpercentage of firings. There are also several references to the term,“cylinder.” It should be understood that in various embodiments, theterm cylinder should be understood as broadly encompassing any suitabletype of working chamber. An engine may also use a skip fire-liketechnique where instead of a cylinder operating on skips and fires, itoperates at either a low torque or high torque output firing. In thiscontrol scheme, denoted as dynamic firing level modulation, thecylinders are not skipped. In dynamic firing level modulation, theoutput of fired cylinders are varied dynamically in a skip/fire typepattern. For example, a particular cylinder may sometimes be fired at a“high” or “higher” torque output level and may sometimes be fired at a“low” or “lower” torque output level, with the “low” output levelscorresponding to the “skips” and the “high” output levels correspondingto the fires in a skip fire pattern. Therefore, the present embodimentsshould be considered illustrative and not restrictive and the inventionis not to be limited to the details given herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling operation of an internalcombustion engine having a plurality of working chambers to deliver adesired output, wherein each working chamber has at least onecam-actuated intake valve and at least one exhaust valve, the pluralityof working chambers including first and second sets of the workingchambers, each set of working chambers including at least one workingchamber, wherein working chambers in the first set are deactivatable andworking chambers in the second set are not capable of being deactivatedduring operation of the engine, the method comprising: operating theengine to deliver a desired engine output by causing each of the workingchambers in the second set to be fired during every engine cycle andcausing the working chambers in the first set to sometimes be fired andsometimes be skipped; and setting an air charge for each fired workingcycle based on whether a high or low torque output was selected for thefired working cycle.